Date palm

Due to the dry desert climate at St. Mary El Syrian monastery, the monastery is distinguished in planting date palm trees. The cultivation of palm trees was well-known since the ancient time, since dates was the main food for those residing in the desert. Due to the different climate conditions through-out Egypt, Baryt-Shiehiet is one of the distinguished areas in cultivating wet and half dry items.

Features of such cultivated items, is that they are eaten freshly, and their thermal needs is much less than that required for dry items, they require around 2000 to 2700 calories fahrenheit, and requires around 20 to 30% humidity.

Dates are classified as Zaghloul, Samani, Amhat, and Siwi. With regards to the suitable soil for plam cultivation, it doesn’t need to be fertile, as required for other types of fruits. Since it can bear the soil alkalinity and salinity, which other plants can’t grow in. It can grow in sandy soils with deep ground water level.

Water irrigation for palm trees:
Date palm bear high salinity irrigation water, but the increased concentration of salts may reduce vegetative growth and thus the crop. It has been noticed that palm produces a full crop if the proportion of salts in irrigation water is less than 2000 per million.

Used methods to irrigate palm trees:

First: Arcade
this method is used to irrigate recently planted, in sustainable grounds. This is summarized in planting a row of palm trees in a basin around 1.5-2 meters wide called arcade in which the irrigation water is launched.

Second: Basin
The ground is divided into basins, where each basin has one palm or more, this method requires great amounts of water. Flat grounds with a slight downhill are preferred in this method in order for water to easily spread within the ground surface.

Third Drip Irrigation:

Drip irrigation is a new irrigation method used in Egypt to irrigate fruit trees such as Palm trees. This method is still under testing for irrigating fruit trees in Egypt. This irrigation method will save great amounts of water in comparison to flood irrigation which is the most efficient used method.

Palm fertilization:

It is recommended for recently planted seeds not to use local decayed fertilizers in the hole, but it is recommended to mix it well with the soil bottom and then cover the mixture with the soil surface hole. Then dig the plant and cover around it well with dirt. It is preferred in new palm farms to plant green fertilizers, such as trefoil and bean feed and then dig in the soil, such fertilizers improve the properties of the soil.

Picking and reaping the fruits:

The process of picking and reaping the fruits is considered the last phase in the agricultural operation on trees from which fruits are harvested. This will affect the quality of the fruits; accordingly we must pay full attention to these fruits during all stages from deciding on the appropriate time to gather the fruit until the delivery of the fruit to the consumer, to assure high quality fruits the best technical methods must be used.

Moist fruit varieties:
1 - Hayani
2 - quail
3 - Zaghloul
4 - moms
5 - girl Eisha
6 - or chicken (or smolt)
7 - Al-Orabi (Uraibi)
8 – Al Helawi
9 - Kaba
10 - Capuchi
11 - zero Aldomyin
12 – Sarji

Half moist fruits varieties:
1 - Siwi.
2 - Siwi
3 - Ajlani
4 – White Hegazy