How do summer rains affect the yield of dates in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf?

Weather of Arabia - The period from May to September is the   The growth, development and maturity of the fruits of palm trees in Saudi Arabia and the date-producing countries, and the month of August is the month of harvesting the dates; Where the temperature of the sun rises and air humidity usually decreases, but this year witnesses a high percentage of summer rainfall in Saudi Arabia and some date-producing countries, accompanied by an increase in air humidity with a decrease in the sun’s heat, which threatens palm trees with losing the quality of the dates crop, knowing that rain does not harm The palm is like a tree, but it causes severe damage to the fruits, so how does the summer rain affect the date crop?

Effect of air humidity on date production

Professor of horticulture and fruit production at the College of Agricultural and Food Sciences at King Faisal University, Dr. Saleh Al-Turki, that atmospheric humidity is one of the important and determining factors for the economic production of dates in the regions of the Kingdom, and it is necessary to focus on its percentage during the period of growth, development and ripening of the fruits, and this period extends from May to September , and it is important in this matter that the percentage of humidity appropriate for the fruits in The wet and date phases are not high and do not exceed 45-55% .

Fruit moisture

Dr. pointed out. It is valid that the high level of moisture in the surrounding air reduces the loss of moisture in the fruits and leads to a physiological change in the development of the fruits due to the difficulty of getting rid of the excess moisture inside the fruit . Also, at high humidity the transition period to the wet phase may stop for longer periods of time. wet stage.

Rainfall during the ripening of the fruits also causes their falling or severe damage as a result of infection with many fungal and physiological diseases, including finishing disease “tattooing” and blackening of the top “black nose”, and the fruits splitting or wilting and discoloration “internal browning”, in addition to their exposure to other secondary damages such as mold and fermentation Acidification, which results in crop damage or reduced marketing value.

Agricultural measures to reduce the negative effects of high humidity

drew d. Saleh pointed out that there are agricultural treatments that can reduce the negative effects of high air humidity during the harvest season, including:

• Thin the fruits by removing a number of snuffs from the middle of the stalk to ensure ventilation between the fruits.
• Cover the stalks using paper or plastic covers to protect the fruits from rain.
• Plant early-ripening varieties in areas where the rains begin early.
• Work to elect parents that help early ripening of fruits.

Early preparation to protect the palm crop

Specialists in agriculture had revealed the impact of the rain wave that fell on Al-Ahsa Governorate, eastern Saudi Arabia, on the palm crop, directly, especially with regard to the fall of the matured crops. One day the crisis worsened.

They explained to Al-Youm newspaper that dealing with rain waves requires placing plastic bags on the fruits, especially young palms, in addition to collecting the ripened ones and storing them in a suitable place, with the importance of developing future plans to preserve the fruits and ways to store them, to deal with rain waves, in order to avoid their impact on the the crop.

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