Question: My 5-year-old Deglet Noor date palm has two very large bunches of dates, each date being about 11/2 to 2 inches long. They are green to tan and not ripening. Last year, we had a good crop. What to do?
Deglet Noor is the most common California date grown. Dates take about 29 weeks to ripen. Check for seeds and make sure they were pollinated properly. Palms are wind pollinated in the United States, so they can be irregular in how well they set fruit. Hand pollination is the only way to make sure they are pollinated.
If the fruit are ripening unevenly, try putting them someplace where you can raise the temperature to about 90 degrees and force them to ripen.
Bob Morris is an associate professor with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
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