Large dates a matter of pruning for island farmers

Mezirah: A giant date, possibly a world record, was put on show at the Liwa Festival.

With the correct fertiliser, pruning and watering it is possible to produce dates that are up to 7cm in size, Abdul Hafeez Mousa, an engineer and head of the Agriculture Department on Zirku Island, told Gulf News.

He said using simple methods such as organic fertiliser and by reducing the number of fruit branches on a tree, it is possible to cultivate large dates.

Mousa showed samples of the Ambara date at the fourth Liwa Festival in the Western Region, which ended Saturday.

Zirku Island (138km from Abu Dhabi) is an oil field run by the Zakum Development Company, with a population of 1,000, all working in the oil field. The company runs a well-developed agriculture program on the island and grows fruits such as orange, mango, fig and grape for local use.

"The size of dates can be controlled by reducing the number of branches. A tree could have more than eight fruit-carrying branches every year. "We keep only four and also reduce the the number of fruits on every branch," he said. The organic fertiliser is made locally from agricultural and restaurant waste.

Abdul Hamid Al Marzouqi, Housing and Services Supervisor on the island, said: "We did not participate in the date competition because we don't want to emulate other farmers. We just want to show our experience and teach others how to improve there production." He said they want to register the Ambara date as a world record.