Qassim’s Date Harvest Enters Final Stage as Summer Ends

Farmers in Qassim are gathering the dates remaining on their palm trees as summer draws to a close, marking the final stage of the annual palm-growing season.

Known as “al-jidad,” this harvest period brings the agricultural cycle to its conclusion, with fruit collected according to the variety of palm and the dates’ level of ripeness.

The timing of the harvest therefore varies across palm varieties, rather than following a single schedule for all the remaining fruit.

Qassim falls in the middle of the date-harvesting calendar compared with a number of other regions. The return of al-jidad each year marks a familiar seasonal milestone for its farmers.