Date production in Australia is entering an exciting time, with the discovery of a variety of a male date palm that produces a high amount of pollen. It is now clear that the discovery, originally reported in May, might mean that growers are able to fetch up to three times the price they currently receive at the farm gate. It would also position Australia as the only date producer in the world during the Northern Hemisphere off peak season. “Growers are currently getting around $10 per kilo at the farm gate, but they could get as much as three times that with this new variety,” says Dr Cameron McConchie, who led the research project from the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industries, which discovered the new variety after 20 years of research and development work.
Dates produce up to 120 kilograms per palm per season, from plantings of 100 per hectare, including 20 males. “Our guys are able to sell everything they produce too,” adds Dr McConchie. “The variety of date we found, called barhee, does produce a lot of pollen for a longer period. That would lead to a higher amount of easier to store, bigger dates available on the Australian market,” says Dr McConchie. “We can sell that as a fresh date, it’s very easy to transport around the world too.”
Dates are generally harvested from mid February to mid or late April in Australia, and do not need ‘perfect’ water to grow, according to Dr McConchie. The area where the discovery was made, near Alice Springs, does have plenty of water anyway, he says. “We will be counter-cyclical, and dates can grow in water about 1/10 the strength of sea water in terms of salt.” Australia is also free of many major date pests that plague other growing countries, according to him.
The project is currently looking for investors with a long term view, Dr McConchie says. Dates take up to ten years to produce saleable fruit when planted, but returns are virtually guaranteed at that time.
Dave Reilly of Gurra Downs, a date growing farm in South Australia, told media he is also ‘excited’ by the prospect of the new variety just discovered. He also told Fresh Plaza that weather conditions and volumes have been ‘good’ this year, and the farm is still in the research and development phase.
For more information
Dr Cameron McConchie
Northern Territory Department of Primary Industries
Phone: +612 62714100
E-mail: cameron.mcconchie@ntdpi.gov.au
Website: www.ntdpi.gov.au