After harvesting olives ... pruning trees process begins in al-Shahba

ARIF SULAIMAN – JAFAR JAFO / AL-SHAHBA

The olive harvest comes in third after wheat, potatoes and pistachios in al-Shahba canton. The percentage of cultivated lands with olive in al-Shahba is estimated at 2,000 to 2,500 hectares.

The farmers of al-Shahba canton started to prune the olive trees after they finished harvesting their crops, where the pruning process is done in order to obtain better and higher production in the coming seasons.

The process of pruning the trees starts after the finishing the olive harvest directly since the beginning of November and it lasts for nearly 3 months, and the time period is linked to the climate prevailed in the area.

Pruning the olive trees is usually done every two or three years, due to the growth and production of the tree branches.

The olive farmers have not finished harvesting the fruits yet. The harvesting process continues until the end of this month, but pruning often begins as soon as the fruit is harvested.

The farmer Rajab Alo, a resident from Ahras village talked about the benefits of pruning the olive trees and said that after the olive harvest is finished, olive trees are trimmed in the period between November and December so the tree can work in the coming years and give more abundant fruits."

At the end of the process, the farmer obtains large amounts of olive branches that have been trimmed, and they are used in the livestock feed, firewood for heating, or cooking.

H/S

ANHA