The Amazing Rescue of the Medjool Date Variety

In 1927, Dr. Walter Swingle, employed by Bureau of Plant Industry, traveled to Morocco on invitation from the French government. His task was to "save" the expiring Medjool date variety from extinction. A rare disease called Baioudh was decimating their crop. Mr. Swingle extracted what he considered to be 11 offshoots from relatively healthy remaining trees, and brought them back to Southern Nevada for transplanting.

Amazingly 9 of the 11 offshoots survived the transplanting, and a full seven years later (1934) they were moved to the Coachella Valley in Southern California. In 1944, date growing pioneer Stanley Dillman took 24 offshoots from the original 9 surviving Medjool trees and planted them in the Bard Valley.

Even today, 65 years later, each one of these trees produces an annual yield of over 200 pounds of these incredibly delicious treats.

So the next time you're enjoying a Medjool date, just remember how close they were to being extinct!