Spatial analysis of date palm production in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah District, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using remote sensing and GIS

Soliman, Maher Hamed Sadawy; Abd El Razik, Eman Mahmoud Ramzy

doi:10.21608/qarts.2023.231505.1749

Spatial analysis of date palm production in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah District, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using remote sensing and GIS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Assistant Professor of Economic Geography and Geographic Information Systems - Faculty of African Postgraduate Studies - Cairo University

² Lecture of Economic Geography at the faculty of Art - Alexandria University

10.21608/qarts.2023.231505.1749

Abstract

     Date palm is one of the ancient crops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in general and in the Medina region in particular. Where the date palm adapts to the conditions of the desert environment, in addition to the abundance of groundwater that helps the growth of date palms in the oases of Saudi Arabia. Medina and the Kingdom have witnessed a development in the production of dates throughout history, which gives this an inevitability to the interest of the agricultural region in cultivating it and increasing the quantities of its production for the purpose of marketing it locally in The Hajj season and the times of performing Umrah throughout the year, as well as for the purpose of exporting it to countries of the world to bring in hard currency.
     The research dealt with five main points represented in the study of the geographical distribution of date palm production in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, and to identify the factors influencing the cultivation of date palms in the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region, and the role of the Kingdom in expanding the manufacturing and marketing of dates in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, and the study presented many problems Which affected the cultivation and production of date palms in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. Finally, the two researchers proposed a future vision for the development of date production in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah by selecting the most appropriate site for palm cultivation in the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah District.

      The study reached several results, the most important of which are: The role and importance of natural factors in making the Medina region a suitable environment for the cultivation of date palms, with the increasing efforts of the Kingdom to expand the agricultural areas of palm trees, expand the strains and devise the best ones, and the study concluded to select additional sites for palm cultivation in the study area. The researchers also made several recommendations, the most important of which is the interest in treating palm pests, as well as the expansion of bringing in workers with experience in dealing with date palms, and the expansion of fields, research studies, and irrigation methods for palm trees.

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