Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) is a palm in the genus
Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is
unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around
Iraq. It grows 70–75 feet in height growing singly or forming a clump with
several stems from a single root system. The leaves are 4–6 m long, with spines
on the petiole, and pinnate, with about 150 leaflets; the leaflets are 30 cm
long and 2 cm wide. The full span of the crown ranges from 6 to 10 m. Dates
contain 20–70 calories each, depending on size and species.
Date palms can take 4 to 8 years after planting before they
will bear fruit, and produce viable yields for commercial harvest between 7 to
10 years. Mature date palms can produce 80–120 kilograms of dates per harvest
season, although they do not all ripen at the same time so several harvests are
required. In order to get fruit of marketable quality, the bunches of dates
must be thinned and bagged or covered before ripening so that the remaining
fruits grow larger and are protected from weather and pests such as birds.
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