Kurma

Fruit Warehouse | Kurma | Fruit produced by a palm tree known as a date. Dates have a single grain size of about 2 to 2.5 cm long and 6-8 mm thick. Dates are grouped into three main groups: soft (eg 'Barhee', 'Halaw', 'Khadrawy', 'Medjool'), semi-dry (eg 'Dayri', 'Deglet Noor', 'Zahidi') and dry ( for example 'Thoory'). This type of fruit depends on the content of glucose, fructose and sucrose.

Dates trees are believed to originate from around the Persian Gulf and has been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BC. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in the year 6000 BC.

 

Palm tree is a dioecious plant species, which has male and female plants are living separately. Plants grown from cuttings will fruit 2-3 years earlier than seedling plants that use. Fertilization with pollen on a palm tree made naturally by the wind but in the traditional oasis plantations and modern plantations, pollination is done manually. Natural pollination on male and female plants, can occur with an equal number of both crops. However, when done with the assistance, one male plant can pollinate up to 100 female plants. Which is the male plant as pollinators, allowing farmers to use their resources to produce more fruit on female plants.

Every 100 grams of fresh dates may contain sources of vitamin C  and an energy of 230 kcal (960 kJ). Dates are an important traditional crop in Turkey, Iraq, Arabia, North Africa to Morocco. In Islamic countries, dates and yogurt or milk are the main traditional food for breaking fast during Ramadan. Dates (especially Medjool and Deglet Noor) are also cultivated in the United States in southern California, southern Arizona and Florida.

Palm trees can bear fruit after planting for 4 to 7 years and can be harvested when it has aged 7 to 10 years. Palm trees that have grown can produce 80-120 kg (176-264 lb) of fruit harvest dates in each season. Dates are also called palm-speckled seedless. Partially dried dates speckled glazed with syrup of glucose likely to be used as a snack. 

Dates are also processed to shape the dice, pasta (called "Ajwa"), spread, date syrup or "honey" called "dibs" or "rub" in Libya, powder (date sugar), vinegar or alcohol. Processed latest innovations include chocolate-covered dates and products such as sparkling date juice, used in some Islamic countries as a non-alcoholic version of champagne, for special occasions and religious times such as Ramadan.

Dates can also be dried, crushed and mixed with grain to form a nutritious raw materials. Dried dates are eaten by camels, horses and dogs in the Sahara. Palm flowers are also edible. Dates are an excellent source of dietary potassium.

In India and Pakistan, North Africa, Ghana, and Ivory Coast, date palms are tapped for sap sweetness drawn, which converted into palm sugar (known as Jaggery or gur), molasses or alcoholic beverages. In North Africa the sap obtained from tapping palm trees known as lāgbī. In the Southeast of Spain (where there are large plantations of dates including the UNESCO-protected Palmeral of Elche) dates (usually processed with fried almonds) served wrapped in bacon and shallow fried. The traditional belief says that the dates can counteract alcohol intoxication. Dates trees are prone to a disease called Bayoud disease, which is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum.