Abstract
Two cultivares of date palm (Phoenix oraetylifera L.) i.e. Rile-wi and Khadrawi were studied at the khalal, rotab stages and late drawl,' of maturity for their moisture contents, vit. C aad sugars contents. Moisture vit. C and sugar percentage were non-significantly different in fruits from either of the whorl of a variety. A bigber C (8.76 gruil 00g) and total sugar content (32.96%) were noted in Hillawi until rutab stage. In late rutah stage total sugar content' Co both nultivars were same (53.99 and 5.3.4I 6/), while vit. C con-centration was higher in Hillawi (4.81 mgli00 g) than in Khadrawi (1.95 mg/ 000g).
INTRODUCTION
The information on the ch.ernical composition of the important date varie ties grown in different parts of the world is not scarce. However, the quality of of date fruit from different' spathes which emerge in whorls at far distant inter-val is seldom taken into consideration. The present studies are therefore, deemed poineer to explore if the quality of dates from different v.rhorlel is variable. Ash-rnawi et al. (1962 analysed Zagloul dates on dry weight basis, At lthalal stage it contained 84.31% water, 45.4%reducing sugars and 10,57% sucrose, at 'Ratab' stage, 59,96% water, 62.0% red acing sugars, and 13.29% sucrose. Girad (1962) studied the sugar contents ib Deglet-Moor dates on dry weight hasiland observed 35,86% non-reducing sugars 44.17% reducing sugars and 80..63% total sugars. Yousif et at. (t912) studied the nutritive value of four commercial Iraqi date eve. i.e. Hill awl, Sayer, Zaidi and Khadrawi, Sawaya el al. (1983ab) analysed sugars and vit. C contents of fifty five date varietie grown in Saadi Arabia at two different 'testa of maturity viz. i.ichalaii and 'Tamer*. The results showed that total sugars as well as reducing /sugars ware high in iTainer%stage (70-80 and 2945% on fresh weight basis), than Khalal-stage (60-80 and 8-81%), but sucrose contents *eta high at gamier stage (35-70%) than Tamer stage (11.43%). Vit, Cat khalal stage were more (1.8-1,1 3 mg/I0Dg) as compared to that in "Tamer'-stage (1.1.6,1mg/100 g),
