The Amazing Story Of The Fabulous Medjool Date

A Dramatic Saga Of Suspense with many color illustrations. The fascinating and touching firsthand account of one of the most miraculous rescues from almost certain extinction ever achieved in the field of world horticulture. Growing Medjools is incredibly labor intensive. Medjool date palm trees require ten to fifteen years to mature to maximum production. Thoughtful, careful and precise nurturing is demanded at every step along the way. Few are aware of the astonishing degree of human labor necessary to realize a successful crop of this very unusual and delectable fruit. Dedicated workers ascend into the treetops numerous times during each growing season to perform these difficult tasks: pruning, de-thorning, pollinating, fruit cluster thinning, fruit arm training, individual fruit bunch bagging to protect from birds, insects and weather and, finally, harvesting. The thinning process alone is exceedingly time consuming. Working at top speed, one man can thin only six palm trees a day. There are numerous other necessary jobs below the spreading palms such as irrigating, field leveling, tilling, fertilizing, equipment manufacture and repair and even the trapping of root-eating rodents. This book details everything about the date including how to grow it...along with names of most of the current growers/retailers.