SW China's arid valleys revived by 'desert bread'

From the parched dunes of Arabia to the sun-scorched valleys of southwest China's Yunnan Province, the date palm, often dubbed as "desert bread," has found a second home.

In late August, the wind sweeping through Yunnan's Yuanjiang County carries the caramel-sweet scent of ripening fruit and the promise of a new harvest. Beneath a sky that seldom sees frost, rows of feathery palms rise high, with clusters of dates glinting like lanterns against the red earth.

Dates are no ordinary fruit. Packed with nutrients, each tree can yield up to 200 kilograms and thrives even in the harshest conditions such as drought, blazing heat and saline soils.

Yunnan's diverse topography and climate make it a prime agricultural region. In Yuanjiang, where the average annual temperature is 24.1 degrees Celsius and sunshine is abundant, conditions are ideal for growing date palms, placing it among the best areas in China for date cultivation.

"Promoting date cultivation in China's vast arid river valleys not only brings ecological benefits, but also holds great economic potential," said Ma Yunfei, deputy director of the county's crop farming development service center.

The date palm is a versatile plant. Its fruit is edible, its leaf fibers can be used to make paper, and its rotten fruits can be used in cattle feed. Its resilience makes it ideal for ecological restoration, while its elegant form makes it a sought-after ornamental tree, according to Ma.

The introduction of date palms to China has not only enriched the country's agricultural tapestry, but also ushered in fresh opportunities for China-UAE collaboration in agricultural innovation, food security and environmental research.

In 2019, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) proposed gifting 100,000 date saplings to China to help develop the date industry and jointly explore third-party markets. That same year, Yuanjiang County partnered with the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) to establish a trial base for date cultivation.

Today, Yuanjiang boasts a 2-hectare date cultivation demonstration site with 722 trees. Some varieties have already reached yields comparable to the average in Arab countries, with a single tree producing up to 122.3 kg of dates.

As date cultivation and research progress, Chinese research teams have continued to make breakthroughs in seedling breeding, pest and disease control, post-harvest preservation and deep processing.

In addition to Yunnan, counties in southern Hainan Province and southwestern Sichuan Province have also started trial date plantings, carrying out multi-variety evaluations to provide a scientific foundation and technological support for variety breeding and industry planning.

"We aim to accelerate the building of a complete date palm industry chain, from germplasm resources to deep processing, to help this 'desert bread tree' take root and bear fruit in China's arid river valleys," said Wang Fuyou, a researcher at CATAS.

"This will inject new vitality into the coordinated promotion of rural revitalization and ecological governance," Wang added.

With orchards expanding, labs are keeping pace in developing date palm products. New offerings such as date latte, date tea and sun-dried snacks are boosting both value and market clout.

(Cover: A date palm. /VCG)