212 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



YIELD AND SEASON 



Most varieties of date palm, if properly cared for, will begin 

 to bear in the fourth year, and should yield a considerable 

 return in the fifth and succeeding years. Under Arab treat- 

 ment they usually take longer. References in the Code of 

 Hammurabi (about 2000 B.C.) indicate that the Babylonians 

 at that time could secure a paying crop in the fourth year ; if 

 so, they were better cultivators than their modern descendants. 



Beginning with two small bunches, the grower may allow 

 his palms to bear an increasing amount each year until maximum 

 is reached. After the fifth, sixth, or seventh year, 100 pounds 

 or thereabouts to a tree can be maintained steadily without 

 difficulty by most varieties, and one or two offshoots a year will 

 still be produced, given proper fertilization and irrigation. 

 In many cases even larger yields can be obtained. If, however, 

 the growing palm is not given proper culture, for instance is 

 allowed to carry a full load of offshoots, and, simultaneously, to 

 bear all the fruit that it can, it tends to become an intermittent 

 bearer, bringing in a large crop one year and little or nothing 

 the next. This should be avoided by eliminating the conditions 

 named. 



The season of ripening is from May to December, depending 

 on variety and location. Fresh dates as early as May can be 

 secured in favored locations in Arabia, where certain early 

 kinds are grown. They have not yet been produced so early in 

 the United States, where the first dates do not ripen until July. 

 In many regions very late varieties will carry fruit into mid- 

 winter. In California and at Basrah the height of the season is 

 September; in Egypt, August; in western Arabia, July; in 

 Algeria, September or early October. As a general rule, the 

 dates of best quality are late in ripening and the early dates 

 are soft varieties which must be consumed fresh as they lack 

 the necessary amount of sugar to keep without fermenting. 



