Basra date harvest begins with better yields after a wet winter

BASRA — Growers in northern Basra have started the palm harvest, picking Khadrawi and Halawi with Shukr and Barhi to follow, and say yields are better than recent seasons after a late winter and heavier rain.

The harvest usually starts in late August and runs through September, with some varieties left on the palms into mid-October or later depending on ripeness, said Aqil Nanaa, who has an orchard in Ezz al-Din Salim district, formerly al-Huwair. He climbs the palms with a traditional strap and works with two sizes of sickle, an axe, pruning shears, a file and a saw.

Some owners leave several clusters on the palms after harvesting for birds and other animals, a practice farmers describe as both inherited tradition and a form of charity.

Harvested dates go first to markets in northern Basra and the governorate centre before being distributed to other governorates, with some reaching markets abroad, said farmer Abdulrahman al-Hajjaj. Growers say the character of the local fruit comes from soil, climate, fertility and salinity, which shape sweetness, texture and appearance.