Page 161 - Arabian Studies (II)

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Effects of Irrigated Agriculture on Soil Characteristics 153
potentially very dangerous for there could be a reversal of the
hydraulic gradient — at the Agricultural Trials Station the ground-
water table is only about 3 metres above mean sea level.

2. Agriculture
The cultivated area of Ras al-Khaimah has expanded enormously
since the mid-1950s, some indication of the rate of this expansion
being evident in Fig. 3. When the Agricultural Trials Station was
established at Digdaga in 1954, the only agriculture practised on any
scale was the cultivation of date gardens. Agricultural practices have
changed little in these traditional gardens over the centuries — dates
are the dominant crop grown though a few citrus and banana trees
may also be cultivated for subsistence and limited exchange
functions. Only very small areas are given over to vegetables, again
for subsistence, while some fodder grasses are grown under the date
palms for livestock. Livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) are usually
kept under the shade of the date palms, especially during the hot
summer months, and it would be during this period of the year that i :
the date gardens would receive most of their organic manure. Some
of the more enterprising owners have applied dried fish, of the
sardine variety, to individual palm trees, while others buy in animal
manure from the hill tribes. Irrigation water is applied at monthly
intervals during the winter, but in summer the rate of application is
somewhat greater, about once every 7—10 days.
Commercial smallholdings have become established since the early
1950s and they now make up the majority of the cultivation units.
Their development has been stimulated by the growth of urban
markets in the Gulf area, notably at Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah,
though now some fresh produce is air freighted further afield. These
commercial units have concentrated on the cultivation of vegetables <,
with only limited dependance on tree crops. One or two of the more
progressive smallholders are now devoting a major proportion of !!
their holdings to tree crops including citrus, bananas, dates,
pomegranates, apples, almonds and vines. For the successful
economic cultivation of these crops, rather more sophisticated
expertise is required, including attention to irrigation rates and
correct fertiliser and manurial programmes.
However, most of the ‘new’ smallholders devote most of their
holdings to the cultivation of vegetables and other ground crops. The
size of an individual holding is generally less than 10 hectares, though i!
an owner may operate more than one holding. Irrigation water is
supplied by pump and distribution within the holding is usually by