The Date Palm and Its Cultivation in the Punjab

Contents: 1. General requirements of the date palm; a few notes on its adaptations to its habitat and the differences between the sexes. 2. Soil and climate. 3. Propagations of date plants from seeds and suckers (off-shoots), care of young plantations, manuring, interculture, pruning and water requirements of established plantations. 4. Pollination to fruit preservation. 5. Extent of date growing in the principal date growing localities of the province, date fruits from local and imported trees, and profits to be expected from date farming. 6. Diseases of the date palm. 7. Imports and exports of date fruits and prospects of date farming in the Punjab plains. Appendix.

From the Preface to the Third Edition: "This book aims at interesting farmers in date cultivation in suitable localities in the Punjab and what seems equally necessary since people have seen the comparatively fine date fruits grown in the Punjab on imported trees, warning intending planters against laying out large date plantations in unsuitable situations. The questions dealt with in the note are those which have been put to arise in the minds of, date-growers. They have been dealt with briefly and of necessity in language as non-technical as possible.

It is pleasing to be able to say that all results of investigations made up to date tend to show most decidedly that the people may derive great benefits from date cultivation if it is properly conducted in suitable situations. Major Buck, I.A., Deputy Commissioner, Muzaffargarh, has just acquired a further 19 acres of good land for the District Board to lay out in a date plantation, and have more orders form local farmers for young date plants can supply for several years."