PHCENIX 



IN SIND AM> Till: I' VMM: DA. KMA 



Cultivation 



CULTIVATION. -In India it in cultivated and aelf-sown in Bind 

 and the Southern 1'anjab, |arn <-iir Mulfan, Muzaftargarh, the 



Sind Sai::ir I Mali, and in the Trans-Indus t-i ra (ihazi 



Khan the trees are numerous, on a strip of co U to 1 1' miles 



from north tosoiith. A le\\ are planted in the Ha-t.-rn I'.mj'.l. ;if S.ih . 

 pur, in the QangM hn.ili, ami in Uandelkhand. It is also grown in the 

 Dec. an and (iujaiat. In recent years. throiiL'h (', 



plantations have I n started in various places, t-.tf. in Sind. The. duel 



difficulty in cultivating t lie tree i im.in<- rondn. 



.iry lor sun-ess. ( ('/. Sl\-, Ej-fii-r. in I'nlf. of I tut- >. ,/owrn. 



/ml.. l ( .i)ii, i., pt. iii.. iT)6-7.] 



Climate. Fletcher (Agri. Ledg., 1906, No. 1) gives a full account Climate. 

 of tht; conditions under which successful cultivation is carried on in other 

 countries. The relative low humidity and rainfall in typical date-growing 

 iv- ions is a marked feature. Rain at the time of flowering spoils the pollen, 

 and during the ripening season causes fermentation of the fruit. 

 former, in all regions of successful production, is March to May, and 

 the latter, August to November. Where the best dates are produced, 

 more than half the total yearly rainfall occurs between November and 

 March, thus before flowering commences. On an average, rainfall during 

 the flowering and fruiting season should not exceed 5 inches. 



In addition to this amount of rainfall, irrigation is absolutely essential, 

 for if there be sufficient rainfall to dispense with irrigation, it will be too 

 great to allow the flowers to pollinate and the fruit to set fully and ripen 

 well. The requirements as to temperature are peculiar. In a dormant Temperature, 

 condition, it can withstand temperature as low as 20 F., but an extremely 

 high temperature is necessary to enable it to ripen its fruit. Neither 

 flowers nor fruits are formed unless the mean temperature rises above 

 64 '5 F., and for the best and latest varieties (e.g. the Deglet Noor, Ayata, 

 Algeria) the mean temperature for the fruiting season (May to October) 

 should be above 84 F., and for one month at least above 94 F. 



Soils. The physical character of the soil, sand, loam or heavy clay Soils, 

 appears to have little influence on growth and productivity, except that 

 perhaps on light loam and sandy soils it comes to maturity and flowers 

 and fruits earlier than on heavy soils. It is also peculiar in its indifference 

 to the quantity of alkali in the soil. Investigations on the soil of AI^UL 

 Algerian palm-bearing tracts have shown that though it can grow in soils 

 with 3 to 4 per cent, their weight of alkali, it does not fruit unless the roots 

 reach a stratum where the alkali is below 1 per cent., and does not yi-ld 

 abundantly unless there are layers with less than 0'6 per cent. [Cf. Swingle, 

 Dote Palm and Its Util. in S.W. States, Bureau PI. Indust., U.S. Dept. 

 Agri. Bull., 1904, No. 53.] The alkali in question consists of chlorides 

 and sulphates of sodium and magnesium. 



Propagation. Propagation may take place by seeds or offshoots. Propaga- 

 The latter method is the best, for if seeds are sown, half the seedlings turn tioiK 

 out males, and, moreover, female seedlings seldom produce fruit equal to 

 that of the stock. The offshoots are borne at the base of the stem of 

 trees from 6 to 16 years old. These are removed from the parent when 

 from 3 to 6 years old. The large leaves are cut away, leaving only the root- 

 less stump of the*offshoot, with its bud protected by leaf-stalk and young 

 leaves. For India, April to September is probably the best time for re- 

 moval of the suckers. They should be planted out in rows 26 feet apart 



883 



