Developing a date industry in Australia

The date palm was introduced into Australia by seed in the late nineteenth century. Despite favourable conditions in several parts of the country, plantation scale date fruit production did not occur. Later introductions of offshoots and more recently tissue cultured plantlets set the stage for a new effort to establish a date industry. The Riverland region of South Australia is suitable for commercial production, although the climate may not be ideally hot enough to ripen late ripening varieties. The Gurra Downs Date Company was created in 1996 with a focus on early maturing tissue-cultured varieties bearing fruits which can be consumed fresh at khalal and at rutab (ripe) stage. Light commercial production of Barhee and Medjool fruits began in 2010 and continues to expand and will include other cultivars in the coming years. Success of the venture could stimulate plantation date growing in other parts of the country and Australia could become self-sufficient in date fruits and enter the international markets taking advantage of counter-seasonal production.