Al-jouf: Palm pollination season in Al-Jouf Region provides an opportunity to pass agricultural knowledge from fathers to sons, teaching them the methods local residents use to care for date palms and secure a productive season that yields a variety of dates.

According to Saudi Press Agency, on farms in Sakaka, farmer Muneef Al-Shumairikh works each year alongside his sons and grandchildren during the palm pollination season, locally known as 'tobeer,' tending a group of palms on his private farm that he relies on for his annual date harvest. The tobeer season begins in March each year and continues until late April.

Al-Shumairikh describes some palm varieties as early, such as Al-Safra and Al-Siyatiya, and others as late, noting that the palm pollen is covered with paper bags to protect it from the cold. Based on years of experience and practice, he stresses the importance of pollinating palms within no more than three days of the flower cluster's emergence to ensure timely pollination, noting that some names for palm pollen are 'Siyali' for the upper type and 'Suhaili' for the middle type.

During the process, farmers rely on traditional tools, most notably the "mishdhab," a sharp, knife-like implement used to cut the thorns surrounding the palm and make it easier to reach the flower cluster. Woven palm-frond baskets are also used to carry the pollen while climbing the palms.

Al-Jouf Region annually produces different date varieties, including Hilwah Al-Jouf, Al-Husseiniyah, Sagai, Nabtat Saif, and Al-Ikhlas. The region's produce is celebrated at an annual festival in Dumat Al-Jandal Governorate, where farmers market their dates and processed products derived from them.