OpenPost-harvest
Horticulture Value Chain Programme
Targets the losses that occur between the orchard and the buyer, where a large share of fruit value is currently lost.
Dates
Aseel of Khairpur and the Makran groves — an arid-zone speciality.
- Type
- Perennial
- Pollination
- Feb – Mar
- Harvest
- Jul – Sep
- Bearing from
- Year 5–6
Grown in: Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab. Windows are indicative and shift with district, altitude and season.
Overview
Why dates matters
Date palm thrives where little else will, in Khairpur in Sindh and in Panjgur, Turbat and Kech in Balochistan. Monsoon rain arriving before harvest is the single largest source of loss.
Growing conditions
Climate and soil
Climate
Hot, arid conditions with long dry summers. Needs high summer heat to ripen; rain at ripening spoils fruit on the bunch.
Soil
Sandy loam with good drainage. Tolerates salinity and alkalinity far better than any other fruit crop grown at scale.
Planting & sowing
Plant offshoots from high-yielding mother palms in February to March or August to September at 8×8 m. Maintain roughly one male palm for every 50 females for pollination.
Irrigation
Irrigate every 7–10 days in summer, extending to 20–30 days in winter. Drip irrigation performs well and conserves scarce groundwater.
Fertilisation
For a bearing palm, about 1 kg N, 0.5 kg P₂O₅ and 1 kg K₂O per year plus 50 kg organic manure applied in the basin.
Harvesting
Harvest July to September at the doka, dang or pind stage depending on the market. Bunch covering before the monsoon protects fruit from rain damage.
Crop protection
Pests and diseases
Identify first, then treat on threshold. Routine calendar spraying costs money and drives resistance.
Insect pests 4
- Dubas bug
- Lesser date moth
- Red palm weevil
- Termite
Diseases 3
- Black scorch
- Bayoud (exclusion priority)
- Inflorescence rot
Report a suspected notifiable pest to your district office. Find your office
Related
Support for dates growers
OpenInput support
Farmer Support Initiative
Direct input-cost support aimed at smallholders, delivered through district agriculture offices and paid against verified purchase receipts.
OpenWater & irrigation
Modern Irrigation Programme
Supports the shift from flood irrigation to pressurised systems, with technical design provided by the department’s water management wing.
Publications
- Wheat Production Guide · Crop guide · PDF
- Rice Cultivation Manual · Crop guide · PDF
- Cotton Crop Management Handbook · Crop guide · PDF
Confirm the dates for your own district.
Sowing windows shift with altitude, canal rotation and the season itself. Your district office has the local figures.