date fruit and history
The scientific name, phoenix dactylifera, comes from ancient Greece. The coastal region between the Jordan Valley and Mediterranean Sea is known as Phoenicia, Greek for purple land, a nod to the purple dye made from poisonous sea snails that made the area famous. Because the date palm grew abundantly in Phoenicia, it was believed to be the trees homeland. It became known as Phoenix, or tree of Phoenicia, and was a symbol of the region and was featured on Phoenician coins. Dactylifera translates to “finger bearing”, a reference to the oblong shaped dates and the clusters they grow in.
Important points about date palm in Iran:
The main dates producing provinces in Iran:
A: Kerman Province (Jiroft, Bam, Kohnuj, Kerman) Khuzestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Bushehr and Hormozgan have 53% of the total area under cultivation and 3,2% of the country’s total production.
B: Provinces of Isfahan, Ilam, Fars, Khorasan, Semnan, Yazd, Kermanshah and other provinces have 47% of total cultivated area and 3.1% of total date production in the country.
Iran’s strategic position.
1. One advantage of date palm cultivation is that its cultivation conditions are limited worldwide
2- Iran has a privileged position in the world due to the suitable climate for cultivation of this product.
- Iran’s share in terms of area under cultivation, production and export (first and second place) is an extraordinary opportunity.
- The potential for increased area under cultivation and increased productivity at the level and rate of production is favorable.
Now most dates in America are grown in the Coachella Valley and the Bard Valley. Combined, these two areas have over 7500 acres of land for growing date palms. An annual date festival has been held in Indio, California since 1921.
