The golden crop: Sesame cultivation in Qalyubia begins on May 1st and harvests in September. The Ministry reports that 450 feddans will be harvested this year. One farmer says: "It's good for the soil, doesn't consume much water or fertilizer, and all its elements are beneficial to the land." (Photos) Qalyubia, Ibrahim Salem The golden crop... This is how the people and farmers of the sesame crop in the Qalyubia farms expressed their joy at the harvest season for the crop, as the harvest of all the area on the land of the governorate has been completed, after which the follow-up stage begins, during which the crop is purified from impurities in preparation for selling it to food factories, or factories producing oils from sesame , which is characterized by a large group of nutritional benefits. Increase in the area cultivated with sesame compared to previous years Engineer Mahmoud Sobhi, Director of the Agricultural Extension Department in Qalyubia, revealed that the sesame crop, or what is called the “golden crop”, is one of the contract crops that have recently begun to be planted and spread in the fields of Qalyubia, where it is widespread in the villages of the Qanater Al-Khayriya, Toukh, Qaha and Qalyub districts, where it started at first in small areas, until the size of the crop in Qalyubia this year reached about 450 acres, as it is one of the crops that achieves a great profit for the farmer. The harvest of 450 acres planted with sesame in the Qalyubia fields has been completed. The Director of Agricultural Extension in Qalyubia confirmed, during his interview with “Al-Youm Al-Sabaa”, that the harvesting of all the planted area with sesame in the governorate’s centers has been completed. After the sun-drying process inside the farms is completed, the final stage is the “follow-up” stage, which is the stage of purifying the crop from agricultural impurities that are present in it during the winnowing process, so that the crop is ready to be sold to food factories, or factories producing oils from sesame. A crop that is easy on the soil, with planting beginning in early May and harvesting in September. For his part, Abdel Moneim Ibrahim, a farmer of the crop in the city of Qaha, said that the sesame crop is easy on the agricultural soil and does not strain it, noting that the planting process begins on the first of May of each year, and the crop remains in the ground for about 5 months, continuing until October of each year, pointing out that before planting the land is prepared by plowing it and then fertilizing it with organic fertilizer. One irrigation and a sack of salt; no pesticides or fertilizers are needed. Abdel Moneim explained that after the planting process, the soil is fertilized using a bag of "salt" fertilizer, and it is irrigated once, and it is not irrigated again. Then, at the beginning of September, depending on the temperatures, the crop is harvested, and then the collection and tying stage begins, and it is formed into pyramid shapes inside the planted land. These pyramid shapes help in not losing the crop because when it is in a horizontal position on the ground, the crop leaks from the cones, while the vertical shape does not lose anything from it, and it is also more exposed to the sun from all sides. The winnowing stage begins after harvesting, and one qirat produces 30 kilograms of sesame. He continued, explaining that after several days, depending on the temperature and degree of roasting, the date for "shaking" is determined. This is a manual method where a plastic sheet is placed on the ground, and then the crop is beaten using a large stick to make it come out of the cones. After that, the "follow-up" stage begins, which is done by bringing a manual "sieve" to remove the impurities from it. He pointed out that one carat produces about 30 kilos of sesame, which is a good yield. The most prominent types of sesame in Qalyubia He hinted that cultivating this crop is considered one of the crops that are very comfortable for the soil compared to other crops, and it is considered a period of rest for the land to continue cultivating other crops throughout the year, noting that the most prominent types that he cultivated are “red camel tail and white,” especially since the first type is used in all food products, sweets and tahini making, in addition to extracting oils from sesame. He concluded that after the harvesting operations are completed, the "firewood" or sticks that produced sesame are utilized, either by using them in the manufacture of livestock pens or in the manufacture of resting places on the land, or they are burned, especially since they do not produce any kind of smoke after spreading them on the land and chopping the product during plowing the land so that the land can benefit from it in various ways.