Date (Phoenix dactylifera)
ARECACEAE, Palm Family
There are many edible palm fruits, and one of the most widespread and favored of these is the data (Phoenix dactylifera). Dates were cultivated in ancient land from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 6000 B.C. Then--as now--dates were a staple for the natives of those dry regions. Much later, Arabs spread dates around northern Africa, and dates were introduced into California by the Spaniards in 1765, around Mission San Ignacio.
The date prefers dry, hot climates, because date fruits are injured at temperatures of 20 degrees F, and the damp climate of the California coast was not favorable for fruit production. In the mid-1800s, the date industry developed in California's hot interior valleys and in Arizona. Now the date industry in the United States is localized mostly in the Coachella Valley, where the sandy soils permit the plants to be deeply irrigated. Today the new varieties, mostly introduced in this century, produce about 40 million pounds of dates per annum, or over 60% of the dates consumed in this country. The rest are imported mainly from Persia. According to one survey, about one million people are engaged entirely in date palm cultivation worldwide.
Date palm is a tree "feather palm," meaning that the leaves are pinnately compound. In this and related species of Phoenix, the unbranched stem is covered with persistent leaf bases. This species is dioecious, and growers cultivate mostly female plants. Since Babylonian times, dates have been hand-pollinated, and one male tree supplies enough pollen for up to 50 females. Date palm can be propagated from seed, but to preserve the best quality genetic materials, plants are vegetatively propagated by offshoots. Normally they are set out in 30´ X 30´ plantings, but sometimes the dates are interspersed with citrus, mainly to protect the citrus, even though this lowers date production.
Raising dates is labor intensive because plants must be climbed six to eight times per year. Dead leaves and their associated spines must be removed from the stem, sometimes several times, but green leaves often are not removed because they provide sugar for the fruits. Some operations pollinate the female inflorescence by blowing pollen through a long tube, but this is risky and extremely wasteful. Generally a person climbs a tree, grabs the female inflorescence, cuts off the top one-third of the female stalks, inserts a male sprig, and then ties the female structure shoot with string. Thinning of the female encourages the development of fewer but larger dates. It is extremely important to use the proper male pollen, because, as in maize, the male strongly influences the color, sweetness, and time of ripening of the fruit.
The fruit is a berry with a single large seed, and it takes six to seven months to develop its sugar characteristics. After fruits have begun to grow, the fruit-bearing stalks are pulled down through the leaves and tied to the midrib of a lower leaf, to prevent breakage as the fruits increase in weight. Dates are harvested carefully by hand (most varieties) because the fruits mature at different times over the period of a month. Certain dates (dry dates) are left on the plant until the entire inflorescence of fruits is ripe, and then the whole structure is cut. A grower may harvest up to 300 pounds of dates per plant, variety dependent of course, and dates may be eaten immediately or stored to dry. Certain Old World cultures also eat certain varieties of dates before they are ripe.
Dates are classified according to their fleshiness. This is an arbitrary classification, but is convenient.
The soft dates are rich in glucose and fructose, whereas the drier dates have a larger percentage of sucrose. Up to 80% of the date flesh will be sugar. There is a small amount of fiber, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals. Dates have about 1430 calories per pound and for that reason are not recommended for anyone on a diet.
There are said to be at least 800 uses of the date, most of which are found in the Middle East. Aside from its use as a fresh or a dry fruit with excellent storage properties, it is commonly used in the confectionery trade. One possible industry that is currently unexploited is the use of dates for crude sugar.