The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation reviewed a report highlighting the most prominent extension, service and research activities carried out by the Central Laboratory for Research and Development of Date Palms, affiliated to the Agricultural Research Center.
Dr. Ezz El-Din Jadallah, director of the plant, said that these activities, which the plant carried out through its various branches in the governorates, come in implementation of the directives and instructions of Mr. Al-Qasr, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, to support palm farmers and those interested in it at the level of the Republic, and to intensify the role that the plant plays in this field. Under the supervision of Dr. Mohamed Suleiman, head of the Agricultural Research Center, and Dr. Adel Abdel-Azim, agent of the Agricultural Research Center for Extension and Training.
Jadallah indicated that during August, 3 counseling lectures were implemented, in Sharkia Governorate, in the centers: Faqous, Belbeis, and Mashtoul Al-Souk, in addition to three field days in: Bahariya Oasis, Sharkia, Siwa, as well as summer training for students of Minia University. And a major scientific symposium.
And the director of the laboratory continued, that an indicative lecture was carried out at the Faqous Center within the indicative program of the laboratory, in cooperation with the Central Administration for Agricultural Extension, about the technical operations that take place on the top of the palm tree at this time of the year and improving the quality of the fruits and how to prevent and treat the infection of the red palm weevil, as well as An indicative lecture in the field on the ground in the Agricultural Department of the Souk Mashtool, on how to prepare the sapling for cultivation and the specifications of a good sapling that will be planted from late August until the end of September, pointing out that an indicative lecture was also carried out at the Belbeis Center, which dealt with the technical operations that are carried out on the date palm in this The timing of the year, how to prevent and treat red palm weevil infestation, and the appropriate timing for separating and cultivating offshoots.
Field day in Bahariya Oasis
Jadallah added that a field day was organized, in Bahariya Oasis, to clarify the most important agricultural practices that take place on palm trees during that period and how to treat the red palm weevil and some insect pests that affect the fruits during the coloring period, as well as an indicative field day, in the new Salhia area, on some The problems facing palm farmers and how to overcome them, and the agricultural and technical processes that lead to raising the quality of the fruits. He touched on how to prevent and treat the infection with the red palm weevil, pointing out that a field day was also implemented in Siwa, on palm tissues and the stages it goes through, starting with the selection of varieties. Of high quality and value, such as braided, how to cut the head of the palm tree, and the stages that the weaving goes through in the laboratory.
The director of the laboratory added that, through the Al-Ma’mal branch in Minya Governorate, summer training was implemented for students of the Faculty of Agriculture at Minia University. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in farms and fruit packing stations, and the most important pests and diseases affecting date palms and methods of controlling them.
Jadallah said that a scientific symposium on climate change and its effects on date palms was implemented in cooperation between the International Dates Council and the Central Laboratory for Research and Development of Date Palms in Egypt, in order to present the results of the reference study on climate changes and date palms.