On December 16, 2021, uae representatives and the mainland completed the first batch of date palm sapling donation handover ceremony, during which the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs personally video-linked speech, which shows that the mainland attaches great importance to the introduction of "desert gold" jujube saplings. So what are the characteristics of sand dates, so that they are known as the gods of the Middle East? Why does the mainland attach so much importance to this donation?
Speaking of dates, it is a highly sought after existence in the Middle East, not only the sugar content is more than 70%, but also includes 7 kinds of vitamins and most of the nutrients needed by the human body, and the energy per kilogram of dates is between 2000 and 2500 calories, which is about 1.5 times that of millet, which can be said to be both as a fruit and as a grain. If needed, it can also be used as a raw material for sugar and winemaking, especially in the water-scarce environment of the Middle East, and dates are called "natural fructose" and "desert bread".
In addition to the fruit has a great use, the date palm tree itself also has a high economic value, its branches are flexible and solid, can be used to make tables and chairs, baskets, its leaves are of moderate size, can be used as a mat, tray, can also be used as fuel, even the sap leached from the trunk itself, can be used to make wine or sugar, it can be said that this tree is worthy of the "Middle East treasure" a name.
As one of the oldest tree species in the world, the date palm tree has been planted for more than 5,000 years, but unfortunately this plant is resistant to high temperatures but not cold, so it generally lives in tropical and subtropical regions, there are currently more than 100 million trees in the world, of which nearly 70% are in Arab countries, such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
As the main growing place of date palm trees, the UAE naturally has no shortage of dates, but why did it agree to introduce the saplings of this tree to China? This has to start in 2015.
In 2015, the red palm weevil spread in Arab countries, causing a huge disaster to various palm plants, and the date palm tree was also affected, and the United Arab Emirates and other countries were in deep trouble. Fortunately, at that time, mainland scientists made certain breakthroughs in this research and successfully helped the UAE complete the detection and prevention experiment of red palm weevil. This move not only provided the basis for the mainland to widely deal with the disaster in the Arab countries in the future, but also allowed the mainland to forge a deep friendship with the UAE.
In 2019, the UAE and China reached an agreement that they would donate 100,000 date palm saplings to China, of which the first batch of 1,500 date palm saplings was delivered on December 16, 2021. Ma Youxiang, vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs of the mainland, not only personally thanked him by video link at the handover ceremony, but also made it clear that the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences will maintain its full attention to the colonization and transplantation, and if the follow-up is smooth, it will carry out experimental planting.
To say that jujube, the mainland is actually not a lot, like what gray dates, red dates, black dates, the market abounds, to say that as a fruit to supplement water and sugar, then the date palm for the mainland is just the icing on the cake, why does the mainland attach so much importance to this date palm handover?
The reasons can be divided into three aspects, namely "sand control", "abundance" and "friendship".
First, date palm trees may play an important role in restoring sand to forests on the mainland.
As a tropical crop that originally lived in the desert oases of North Africa and West Asia, dates themselves have the characteristics of high temperature resistance, drought tolerance, salinity resistance and flood resistance, and the soil requirements for cultivation are not strict. This means that if the mainland is successfully introduced, the date palm saplings can be planted in the desert and saline areas with harsh natural environment in the future.
Especially the former, if the mainland can use the date palm saplings to control the wind and sand, improve the desert environment, and create an oasis in the desert, then it will not only have major benefits for protecting the environment, but also harvest a large number of date palm fruits and create economic benefits, which can be called killing two birds with one stone.
Secondly, the introduction of dates is itself a richness in species diversity, while at the same time broadening our recipes.
Some people may say that dates contain such a high ingredient, which is highly likely to be unpopular in China, after all, eating is not only easy to gain weight, but also may lead to high blood sugar and high blood pressure. But in fact, at present, there are not a few fruits with higher sugar content and better selling on the domestic market, and novel foods such as dates will certainly be popular once launched in the market.
Finally, the UAE donated 100,000 date palm saplings to China, which responded with courtesy, which in itself is a testament to the friendship between the two sides.
As the saying goes, "friendship is all out", from China helping the UAE to control the red palm elephant beetle plague, to the UAE agreeing to donate 100,000 date palm saplings to China, to the mainland saying that it will carry out in-depth cooperation with the UAE on the issue of wild jujube saplings, the relationship between the two sides has become closer and closer. This will not only benefit the two countries together on the date palm project, but also open the door to new cooperation projects between China and the UAE in the future.
In summary, it is not difficult to understand why the mainland attaches so much importance to the introduction of the "tree of arab nations" date palm trees, in this wave of donations, we want not only some date palm trees, but also a bright future.
Finally, to add a little knowledge to you, in fact, as early as the Tang Dynasty, the date palm tree was introduced to China, in the "Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks", there is a record of this, but at that time this sapling did not spread in China, do you know why? Interested friends are welcome to discuss together in the message area.