Botswana waits for first date palm fruits

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Tuesday June 8, 2010 00:00

He explained that dates take three to five years to produce fruits depending on the variety of the plant. 

He said that the palm trees are doing well so far and they are still observing their adaptation to the environment. 'They are doing well and most of them have already shown a sign of regeneration. There is expansion of new leaves,' he said. 

Thebenala added that they have planted the trees in six different parts of Botswana. 'These are new trees therefore we will be observing their adaptability in our research centres nationwide,' he stated. 

He said that there are 48 trees in Sebele research centre, 64 in Bobonong research centre, 48 in Impala research in Francistown, 238 in Kang research centre, 341 in Gantsi and 259 in Maun research centre.

He said they got 1,000 trees from Libya and planted all of them except two extra male ones. He explained that they need one male tree per 100. 

Thebenala said that if the trees adapt well, people will be encouraged to plant them for commercial or domestic purposes. 'We are still observing the tree and the moment we are satisfied with its adaptation, we will encourage Batswana to plant this tree for themselves,' he said. 

He explained that date palm trees are not produced through seeds but by cutting and planting the branches. Date palm trees are grown in North Africa and West Asia for their sweet, sticky brown fruits.