Use of urea alone, when available, has been aggravating the alkalinity of the soils, resulting in low crop response and low yields. Large scale weed infestation and insect attack has reduced yield and quality. There is no firm estimate of annual production of vegetables. In the absence of necessary machinery and chemicals, they cannot do much against increasing weeds and infestation by insects and pests. In some areas also, orchards are suffering from waterlogging and salinity.
Dates are the most important fruit in Iraq.
About 400,000 tons of dates were exported annually before the embargo. In addition, it is an important component in the food intake of the Iraqi people. Although export of dates is currently negligible, there is a strong domestic demand for it in view of its value as a supplementary food. The estimated number of trees in 1995 is about 18 million. This is adversely affecting the production of dates.