Omani Mountains as fruit baskets: Dream or Reality? Rashid Al-Yahyai, Department of Crop Science, College of Agricultural & Marine Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. alyahyai@squ.edu.om Oman is blessed with a natural diversity that served the local population throughout the history of the country. Mountains, that occupy nearly 15% of Oman’s landmass, offered shelter and protection and has been a source of food, water, and range for livestock, among a long list of benefits. Numerous food and medicinal plants grow naturally in these mountains and are being harvested for these purposes until today. The range of altitude and climate of these mountains offered an opportunity for cultivation of unique crops that otherwise would not have been cultivated in other parts of Oman. To date, Omani mountains hold a treasure of biological diversity of crop landraces and crop-wild-relatives that are being exploited for their genetic characteristics throughout the world. Omanis for centuries have envisioned ingenious methods and techniques to aid in the cultivation of crops in mountainous land that offered them subsistence supply of nutritive food throughout the year. They flattened mountain areas and cultivated grain and fruit crops in Musandam Mountains that were primarily rain-fed. They constructed intensive terraces to plant pomegranates & other fruits in Al Jabal Al AKhdar. They captured mist and converted it into water for livestock in southern mountains of Dhofar. Even in regions where altitude was not high enough and water was limited, they channeled a long and narrow Aflaj to water plots that were planted with crops ranging from Apricot to Walnuts. Omani mountains with its diverse climate and elevation offered for the longest time in history a range of fruit crops that is unmatched anywhere else in the country. Today, mountains in Oman continue to host an even longer list of fruits species that are used for food, medicine and crafts. New crops have been introduced that carry high potential with success stories throughout, from production of pistachios in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar to coffee in Qairoon Hairaiti in Dhofar. However, a lot more needs to be done to ensure sustainable use of these mountains as well as protection and optimum use of the available natural resources, including land, water and genetic resources. The biotic and abiotic challenges to these crops will also need to be addressed. In return, the mountains will remain a fruit basket, at least for its inhabitants.

1. Omani Mountains as Fruit Baskets: Dream or Reality?
Rashid Al-Yahyai, PhD
Horticulture, Department of Crop Sciences, CAMS, SQU

3. Mountains occupy around 15% & provide a
habitat to large number of people

4. Many inhabitants primary livelihood focuses on
crops & livestock

5. Mountains: Free Fruits from theWild
(Sideroxylon mascatensis), (Sageretia spiciflora )

6. Many sourced land and water for cultivation of fruits

7. Fruit trees have been a source of food, especially when other
crops have ceased to grow

8. Today, fruits remain a main source of food and income
for many residents and growers of the mountains

9. Can fruit cultivation be maintained/expanded?
A vision requires SWOT analysis!

10. Omani Mountains as Fruit Baskets: Dream or Reality?
▪Strengths: Market, Population, Consumption, Cash
▪Weaknesses: Traditional Practices, Post-Harvest storage &
handling, Imports, Quality, Marketing, Price, Side-Job, Data
▪Opportunities: Genetic diversity, Climate,T. Knowledge, superior
cultivars/rootstocks), processing & value-addition
▪Threats: Abiotic (Temp.,Water), Biotic (Pests & Diseases,
physiological, invasive & introduced plants), socio-economic (Land,
Labor, Hi Capital, Rural development)
▪Proposed Action Plan & KPIs: RESEARCH 1st

11. S: Oman - A Fruit-Consuming Nation!
(2011 imports):Apples, 22 787 MT | Oranges, 43 547 MT

12. S: Global Center for Fruit “Consum-versity”
Spain, China, USA, France, Chile,
Brazil, India, South Africa, Argentina, Lebanon

13. S:Widely Cultivated in Oman

14. W:Traditional Practices: micro-lots,
pruning, fertilizer, irrigation, marketing

15. W:Traditional Practices: micro-lots,
pruning, fertilizer, irrigation, marketing

16. O: Genetic Resource Reservoir
Iran,Yemen & Oman pomegranate

17. O: Genetic Resource Reservoir
Iran,Yemen & Oman pomegranate
Punica granatum
Punica protopunica

18. O: Genetic Resource Reservoir
Lime

19. O: Cultivars/Rootstocks

20. O: Climate – Anything Grows Somewhere
Except for people’s choice

21. O: Nutritive & MedicinalValue

22. T: Climate Extremes,Temp. & Rainfall
Chill Hours, Growing Season, Heat Units

23. T: Pests & Diseases
Pomegranate butterfly, peach mildew

24. T: Plant Introductions/Invasiveness
Tambul: betel (Piper betle), addictive psycho-stimulating and euphoria-inducing
with adverse health effects, carcinogenic, teeth staining, constant irrigation

25. T: Socio-economic, abandoned/shifted farms
Home gardens, lack of subsidies, not attractive career

26. Proposed Action Plan & KPIs: RESEARCH 1st

27. Agro-ecology: Integrating profitable & eco-
friendly ‘good’ agricultural practices (GAP)
Not necessary “modern” practices

28. Agro-climatology: LT/ST Effect of rising
temperatures & frequent drought on yield &
fruit quality, fruit/location

29. PGR: Explore the potential of landraces, crop-
wild relatives, ‘low-chill’ cultivars & rootstocks

30. Socio-economic: sustenance/food security,
profitability, sustainability, value addition,
‘alternative’ faming, market outlets, utilization

31. Acknowledgments!
Dr Li us Opara, Stellenbosch Univ., South
Africa
Dr Fahad Al Said,TRC Oman
Dr Abdulah Al-Saadi, CS, SQU
Dr Annamalai Manickavasagan, SWAE,
SQU
Dr Mumtaz Khan, CS, SQU
Mr Ali Al-Subhi, CS, SQU
Mrs Latifa Al-Kharusi, CS, SQU
Mr Adel Al-Mahthouri, SWAE, SQU
Abdulbaqi Al-Raeesi, AES, SQU
SQU HM Grant
TRC Oman
SQU Internal Grants

32. Thank you! Any Answers?
@alyahyai
Dream or Reality?