With the attendance of (73) farmers and experts in the Date Palm cultivation sector, and representing (12) Arab countries.

Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation organized a virtual lecture, presenting “The effect of agricultural operations on the production of good dates”, by Dr. Abdallah Ben Abdallah, Agricultural Advisor, FAO, on Sunday the 13^th of September, 2020. The lecture was attended by (73) participants, representing (12) Arab countries, among which are members of the Date Palm Friends Society in the UAE, farmers, and Agricultural experts.

This virtual lecture held via Zoom, comes under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, President of the Award’s Board of Trustees, and within the Award’s framework and commitment to spread the scientific knowledge and awareness on the Date Palm Best Practices, and providing technical and scientific advice and support to farmers to help them face any challenges. Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Secretary General of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, expressed his appreciation to the extended scientific and professional efforts by Dr. Abdallah Ben Abdallah, as a member of the scientific committee of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, a previous winner in the Award’s 10^th session, within the distinguished personality category in the field of date palm and agricultural innovation. Dr. Zaid also extended his appreciation on the great role played by Dr. Ben Abdallah in promoting the growth and development of the date palm cultivation and date production regionally and internationally.

From his side, Dr. Abdallah Ben Abdallah, presented during the lecture that the date’s quality begins in the field and is a result of the agricultural processes conducted on a date palm tree.  Furthermore, Dr. Ben Abdallah, reviewed the agricultural operational program followed, starting from pollen harvesting to pollination, loosening, binding of bunch, covering of bites, pruning, spiking, weeding, removal of offshoots, irrigation and fertilization. Researches has also proved that the greater the number of days between the day of the pollen opening and the day of pollination, the lower the nodule percentage , thus the fruiting rate , this time period also varies between different varieties due to the susceptibility of female flowers to pollination. Dealing with the phenomenon of shedding and how much limp or biting must be kept in order to avoid the phenomenon of buoyancy and to obtain stability in the annually produced number, was also among the topics Dr. Ben Abdallah highlighted during the lecture.

The lecture was an opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions between farmers, participating experts, and the lecturer, who presented a detailed explanation on the effect of agricultural operations on the production of good dates, which will help in maximizing the added value of Arabic Dates.