page_title: Date cultivation in Dar al-Manasir
section_title: Propagation
hierarchical_section_title: Date cultivation in Dar al-Manasir / Propagation
caption_attribution_description: English: Gau palm tree (جاو) with multiple offshoots from its axillary bud called Bu'rah or Hufrah (بؤرة or حفرة) in Dar al-Manasir, Northern Sudan (c) GFDL David Haberlah (Homepage of David Haberlah, david@haberlah.com)
context_page_description: Date palms are cultivated in Sudan from the Egyptian border in the North all the way along the Nile south of Khartoum until Sennar. In addition to the banks of the Nile, isolated occurrences of cultivated date trees occur in the Red Sea Hills in the vicinity of Port Sudan, in Kassala, along the Atbara River, in the deserts around Dongola and far Southwest in Darfur, for example in Wadi Kutum, Wadi Mellit and Barra. In all these locations, the palm trees depend on accessible ground water or on irrigation. The water for irrigation is either taken from wells or from the river Nile, where it is nowadays provided by diesel pumps.
  Sudan is among the countries that produce good quality dates. Bilad al-Mahas, Sukut, Dongola, Dar al-Shaiqiyah, Dar al-Manasir, Dar al-Rubatab and the areas around Bauqah and Berber along the Nile boast extensive date groves. In each date growing region a particular composition of palm tree varieties, including endemic species, are grown. During the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, Dar al-Manasir had been described as the southernmost limit of date cultivation in the Sudan
context_section_description: In order to multiply the number of fruit-bearing trees traditional offshoot propagation is practised all along the Nile in Sudan. Lower offshoots called Shatla (شتلا) develop from axillary buds at the lower trunk of a parent palm and are cut off during early spring season. A well chosen offshoot will not only guarantee a female fruit bearing palm tree but also inherit the same qualities of its mother plant. The date trees in the region of the Fourth Cataract attain an age of up to 150 years and consist most often of multiple shoots from a single clump called Bu'rah or Hufrah (بؤرة or حفرة). Satisfactory date production ceases with an age of 90 to 100 years. With increasing age and height the palm tree becomes more difficult to climb in order to be pollinated and harvested.
caption: Bu'rah (بؤرة) of a Gau tree.
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