( Prepared by: Driss Hachimi)
Aoufous (Errachidia province) – Sixty-year-old Lahcen Ouaanaya climbs the rough trunk of a palm tree with suppleness and agility to carry out the traditional pollination of female flowers, armed with decades of experience and great care.
At this time of year, farmers in the Drâa-Tafilalet region are busy pollinating date palms, a dioecious species consisting of male flowers (dakar) and female inflorescences (palm tree).
Lahcen explains in a statement to the Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) agency that "this process involves applying pollen by tying male strands to the female flowers of the palm," noting that "one must ensure during this process that the number of male flowers placed in the heart of the blossoms is an odd number, in accordance with tradition."
This farmer, who lives in the commune of Aoufous (Errachidia province), has accumulated skill and expertise in palm pollination over the years, an essential process that allows farmers to obtain an abundant production of dates, both in terms of quantity and quality.
This farmer, who considers age just a number and who learned this traditional method of pollination from a young age, can nimbly climb palm trees that exceed fifteen metres in height.
"In the past," Lahcen adds, "those who carried out the pollination process were paid in kind. Today, payment is often in cash, depending on the number of trees pollinated."
He continued that "the pollination process is a difficult and exhausting task that requires a lot of caution," highlighting that the number of trees treated per day depends on the height of the tree, the amount of pollen, and the number of branches and dry fronds that must be cleaned before climbing the tree.
In reality, Lahcen is keen to preserve the traditional method of palm pollination, as well as to pass on these ancient techniques to young farmers in the region, such as Yassine Ouhammouch.
For his part, Yassine explained that "wind and insects are elements that ensure the pollination of flowers naturally, but these natural carriers have a limited effect, hence the need for artificial pollination."
He pointed out that the pollination process begins with collecting mature pollen from male trees, before cleaning the trees and carefully placing this fertilising material on the female flowers when their colour begins to turn from white to green.
On the other hand, he highlighted the national programme for cleaning palm groves launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, which aims at the periodic maintenance of palm trees, thereby fighting fires and improving the productivity of these fruit trees.
While Lahcen Ouaanaya, like many farmers in Tafilalet, works to preserve these ancient traditions, other farmers prefer to use modern techniques that allow them to save time and reduce costs in treating their palms.
In modern farms located on the Meski-Boudenib axis, female flowers are pollinated using a long telescopic pole that allows the male powder to be placed inside the flowers.
Other farmers use drones for treatment, which is much faster than traditional methods.
In fact, the use of drones supported by artificial intelligence systems facilitates pollination operations and saves time, as pollinating a single tree takes only about 15 seconds, compared to more than 15 minutes using traditional methods.
In Drâa-Tafilalet, the main region that contributes about 80 percent of the national date production, tireless efforts are being made to strengthen the palm sector.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests has launched an ambitious project to plant 5 million palm trees by 2030, from specific varieties that are adapted to climate challenges.
This article Tafilalet .. Palm pollination between traditional methods and modern techniques appeared first on Map Ecology.
