Lime-flavoured memories drive innovation on Saudi farm
- 2024-12-14 12:00
- Middle East
Saudi Arabia: For Khalid Al-Saadoun, dabbling in citrus farming was a way to reconnect with his rural roots and create something akin to the lime trees his grandmother had in the courtyard of their family home in Riyadh.
Grown from seedlings imported from Oman, the lime trees flourished in the dry, arid climate of the northern Saudi city of Hail and began producing fruit in 2018.
However, while the trees bore fruit, Al-Saadoun knew there was room for improvement. The limes, he said, were “very acidic” and not as juicy as those he remembered tasting as a child.
“I started researching and experimenting to see what I could do to improve the quality and taste of these limes,” he said.
In his search, Al-Saadoun came across a number of studies indicating that the size, taste and quality of citrus fruit could be improved by exposing them to higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) during the ripening process.
Al-Saadoun shared his research with his partners at the King Faisal University-affiliated Hail Agricultural Research and Development Company (ARDC), and together they launched a trial project to test the theory.
A small sealed glasshouse was constructed within one of the company’s greenhouses and filled with a mixture of ambient air and CO2. Inside, a number of lime trees were planted. To create different CO2 concentrations, the amount of CO2 pumped into the glasshouse was varied between 700 and 1,500 parts per million (ppm). This was higher than the ambient CO2 levels in the greenhouse, which usually ranged between 400 and 600 ppm.
Carbon dioxide is an essential nutrient for plants and when exposed to higher levels of it, they tend to photosynthesise more, producing more sugars and other compounds that contribute to their quality and taste.
The results of the trial were “very positive”, said Dr Mohammed Alamri, professor of plant production at Hail University and project supervisor at ARDC.
“We found that the limes produced inside the controlled-CO2-enriched environment were bigger in size, had a thicker peel which made them easier to peel, and were sweeter in taste than those that were grown outside in the regular greenhouse without the CO2 enrichment,” he said.
The CO2-treated limes were also more resistant to disease, according to Dr Alamri.
The findings of the trial indicate that controlling CO2 concentration during the ripening process could be a viable way to improve the quality of Saudi-grown limes, making them more palatable to local consumers and boosting local production.
Al-Saadoun said that he is considering expanding the CO2 enrichment technique to other parts of the farm and to other crops.
“We want to see if we can use this technique to improve the taste and quality of other fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers,” he added.
The availability of locally produced, high-quality citrus fruits could help reduce Saudi Arabia’s reliance on imports. The kingdom currently imports the vast majority of its citrus fruits, mostly from neighboring Egypt and Sudan.
In 2020, it imported nearly 29,000 tons of citrus fruits, according to the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.
Boosting local citrus production could also create jobs and contribute to the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy away from oil.
“We believe that there is a big opportunity to increase local production of citrus fruits in Saudi Arabia,” said Dr Alamri. “Our research shows that, with the right techniques, Saudi Arabia can produce limes and other citrus fruits that can compete with those imported from abroad.”
Al-Saadoun is hopeful that his efforts to improve the quality of locally grown limes will not only benefit his own farm but will also contribute to the development of Saudi Arabia’s agricultural sector.
“I want to see more Saudi farmers growing high-quality citrus fruits that can meet the needs of the local market and even be exported to other countries,” he said. “I believe that by working together, we can make this happen.”
Lime-flavoured memories drive innovation on Saudi farm
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