PROPAGATION

There are two common methods that are used to propagate palm trees, sexually by seed and asexually using offshoots. Elmardi mentioned that in the past, seeds were collected from good female cultivars and kept in cloth bags or perforated tin cans and left in the running water of a falaj. One week later, the imbibed seeds were sown in a nursery plot that is especially prepared for this purpose and the seedling then left there for one year. After that, the seedlings were transplanted to their permanent place in the farm. Since 50% of the seedlings will be undesirable males, farmers stopped using this method of propagation long time ago and adopted the vegetative one. Nevertheless, this method is still used in few areas to grow palms for pollen production in some areas in Batinah cost especially when offshoots are not available. Almost all the existing orchards are vegetatively propagated by offshoots. The small-sized offshoot is removed from the mother plant with a locally made machete and placed in moist place either in the falaj or under the farm trees to provide shade and allow roots to develop. Arab growers avoided large shoots and the ones that are crowded together and shaded by interplanted trees . Generally, no green leaves are removed from the offshoot until it is cut from the parent palm, as the growth of an offshoot will be proportional to its leaf area. Separation of the offshoots normally carried out in the late summer and fall. After the root develops, the young trees are transplanted to their permanent place. The new palms normally planted on a hole that is 80cm wide and 80 cm deep in a conic shape. Popenoe said that around 10 or 12 feet of earth are removed from the hole to eliminate alkali and put palm nearer to the ground water. The hole is normally prepared by adding organic manure and loose clean sand with ash before placing the tree in it. In the past, the good cultivars were scarce and expensive, so farmers tended to grow a mixture of different cultivars in the single farm. There are certain times of the year when offshoots are separated from the mother plant, thus moderate temperature is preferred for transplanting offshoots. Popenoe stated that in Samail Valley, where palms are irrigated on weekly basis throughout the year, offshoots are planted in the fall. Although offshoot could be planted in all months of the year, farmers tend to avoid planting in the summer when the temperature is very high or in the winter when temperature is very cold, and their practice is evenly divided between early spring and fall. After planting, the new trees are watered daily for the first week and then once week as the case of the whole farm. Young date palms are planted close old trees in order to be replaced when the young tree start producing fruits. There is no specific spacing but normally it is around 30ft x 30ft interplanted with fruit trees such as citrus or field crops such as barley and alfalfa.

IRRIGATION

The Majority of the old date palm orchards in Oman are irrigated by falaj system. However, in Batinah region most of the orchards are irrigated from wells. Water is drawn from these wells by animal or hand hoists. The falaj system is driven by gravity, so when one plot is irrigated, the direction of the flowing water is changed to another plot in a zigzag pattern. The farm is divided into basins for individual trees and canals are normally constructed in the farms to facilitate water flowing to the trees. The farm is often irrigated once a week in the summer and every three weeks during the winter season. The falaj water is either inherited or bought from the village falaj committee that is responsible for water distribution. The old timing was based upon the sun where a long stick is inserted in the ground to determine periods of irrigation according to the sun movement. In the night time, star measurements were used for the same purpose.

FERTILIZATION

Fertilization in the past was only based on green and animal manure. Popenoe reported that date growers in Oman applied animal manure and mixed it with straw at the rate of two donkey-loads per tree twice a year. Intercropping of alfalfa, which is common in most farms, contributed a big deal in providing nitrogen to the soil and, subsequently, to the trees. The fibrous root system of the date palm allow them to uptake nutrients from a wide range of soil layers. Cow, chicken and human manure are also applied regularly to date farms. Ibn al-Awwam, have mentioned the fertilization of date palm trees as reported by . He says on the make and application of fertilizers especially compost" There is prodigious secret of marvelous virtue which is to take 14 Ibs. of the aromatic rush of Babylon, dig a hole in the ground, and bury it; after 21 days dig it up and spread it around the trees", in order to increase the yield. "It must be done in the sign of Taurus or of Cancer; I myself have tried it with notable success".

He suggests" If your palms bear intermittently, dig a trench around them at two cubits, if it be the will of God, the palm will bear." Addition of organic matters and humus must be contributing to the growth and productivity of the soil since it provide nutrients as well as increase soil water holding capacity in the desert areas. The traditional practice of applying manure was by to bury animal manure in deep circular trenches around the trees. Straw or green manure is normally applied on the soil surface.