Large-scale study on the influence of thinning practices on yield and fruit quality attributes in 'Mejhoul' dates
2025
Yuval Cohen | Avraham Sadowsky | Maia Nusinow | Noah Morris | Tamir Tikochinsky | Yael Salzer
Fruitlet thinning is an important task for date palm growers, particularly for producing high-quality fruit in the 'Mejhoul' cultivar. The present study aimed to explore whether a causal relationship exists between active thinning strategies and passive fruit abscission to trees' performance in terms of tree yield as well as fruit weight and quality. The thinning practices of six experienced growers in the Southern Arava region were characterized over three consecutive seasons, in four adjacent trees per plot. Five growers tested alternative thinning protocols with varying fruit loads. Fruitlets were counted immediately after thinning (April–May) and before bunch coverage (July). Tree yield, fruit weight and quality were assessed after the harvest both in the orchard and in the packinghouse. The study reveals that fruit abscission was very high at the beginning of the thinning season, where growers left more fruit per bunch, and was lower as the thinning season progressed. Although heavier fruit loads increased the final yield, it also increased fruit abscission, and generally reduced fruit weight. While seasonal variations are the main factors affecting fruit quality parameters, such as skin separation and dry rings, our results suggest a secondary effect of fruit load. The comparable thinning experiments suggest that higher fruit loads increased the incidence of dry rings but reduced the proportion of fruits with low skin separation. These findings can help optimize thinning protocols and improve harvest outcomes.
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