Al Jabal Al Akhdar farmers prepare for pomegranate harvest season

Al Jabal Al Akhdar: Farmers in  the Wilayat of Al Jabal Al Akhdar in the Governorate of Al Dakhiliyah will begin harvesting pomegranate in various villages in the beginning of August.

Statistics issued by the Wilayat’s Department of Agricultural Wealth and Water Resources indicate that the number of pomegranate trees has reached more than 27,000, whereas the marketing value of the pomegranate crop stood at RO 1,727,000 during 2022.

The percentage of healthy fruits of pomergranate reached were more than 90 percent, after the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources implemented the control program and released as many as 42,147 million parasites during 2023 season , within the project of the integrated management of the pomegranate fruit sucking moth through the use of alternative means and modern control methods.

Omair bin Muhammad Al-Fahdi, Head of the Agricultural Development and Water Resources Department in the Al Jabal Al Akhdar, explained that the average fresh fruits during the last season 2022 was 88.7 percent, and the average fruits each tree produced an estimated 55 fruits.

He pointed out that pomegranates are one of the main economic crops in the state of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar for farmers, as the villages of Wadi Bani Habib, Saiq, Al-Shuraijah, Al-Uyaynah, Al-Aqr, Hail Al-Yaman, Al-Manakher, Saih Qatana, Al-Sawjrah and Al-Qasha’ are among the most important villages that are famous for the cultivation and production of pomegranates, pointing out that the sweet group of Pomegranate fruits constitute the highest percentage of pomegranate trees in Al Jabal Al Akhdar, with a rate of approximately 98 percent. Its productivity depends on the availability of the main factors, the most important of which is a sufficient dormancy period in the winter, and fertilization and irrigation operations at the appropriate time.

He added that this season will witness abundant production of the pomegranate crop, due to the rains and the abundance of water, as it is expected to witness a great turnout from the visitors of Al Jabal Al Akhdar who come in large numbers, and it will coincide with the period of holding the activities of the Green Mountain Festival 2023.

He explained that the marketing of Al Jabal Al Akhdar pomegranate product takes place in the Nizwa market and some markets in the neighboring states, as the demand for Al Jabal Al Akhdar pomegranate increased during the past seasons, and its prices vary according to the season, the quantity of production and the strength of demand.

Al-Fahdi confirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, represented by the Department of Agricultural Wealth and Water Resources in the state of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, has set up a program in the agricultural research centers to propagate the parasite Trichogramma eggs, which is widely used in combating the pest of pomegranate fruits, as it helped reduce the infection of trees with the pest of pomegranate fruits. And raising the productivity and quality of the fruits, in addition to reducing the economic losses facing farmers.

The ministry was also able, through the application of the program, to set up an accurate system to detect the activity of the insect in all the villages of the state, by means of early detection teams, and there is a keenness of the ministry to train the technical cadres of the Department of Agricultural Development in Al Jabal Al Akhdar and a segment of the people on such projects, pointing to The Ministry provides equipment to control agricultural pests and distributes a number of pomegranate seedlings of good varieties to farmers.

It is worth noting that the pomegranate harvest season in the state of Al Jabal Al Akhdar is one of the unique seasons that adds more diversity in terms of tourism product and highlights elements of recreational tourism, adventure tourism, natural and heritage tourism. Visitors to Jabal Al Akhdar at this time of the year will enjoy learning how to harvest the fruits of the season of Al Jabal Al Akhdar pomegranates.