Home Grown: Date palm age determines amount of fruit produced

News 11's April Hettinger looks into how many acres were harvested this year

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - In today's Home Grown, date harvesting season has just come to a close with growers producing thousands of pounds of dates this year.

The Bard Valley Date Growers Association harvested over 7,00 acres across Yuma, Coachella and northern Mexico.

It's about a six month growing process before farmworkers make the careful but potentially dangerous rise up the palm.

They are harnessed onto a crane for safety.

Older palms are taller but can also change the quantity of production.

"So, when a tree is considered mature at around 12 years old, it will produce a very consistent amount of dates from then on, so anywhere from 200 to 250 pounds of dates per tree," said director of marketing, David Baxter.

The next step during the off-season is to trim the thorns which are sharp enough to puncture a hole in a car's tire.