Henna trees continue to thrive in North Batinah

Liwa and Shinas in the North Al Batinah Governorate are two of the agricultural wilayats known for their fertile lands growing diverse agricultural crops. Amongst the different plants grown in the area, henna trees are the most abundant. The tree is considered a medicinal and aromatic tree. It has medicinal benefits in addition to being used for women’s personal beautification, especially on special occasions like Eid, engagements or weddings. Engineer Saeed al Adawi, Director of the Agricultural Affairs Department, shared that in the governorates of North and South Al Batinah, henna trees are considered perennial plants that survive for several years, sometimes living up to ten years, and can grow up to three metres in height. “Henna bushes are grown using seeds that can grow in all types of soil in the Sultanate and can be cultivated using modern irrigation systems, arraying them in lines for easy completion of fertilisation and pruning operations”, Al Adawi said. Ismail al Balushi, an owner of a henna farm, shared some techniques they use in henna cultivation. Al Balushi said that henna trees are usually planted in a line several centimetres away from each other. They wait for the plant to grow and the moment that the branches grow and are already crossing over to the other plants, it is when the extra branches are cut off. After cutting off the branches, they are then placed under direct sunlight for three to four days to dry. Farmers recommended being circumspect about the season of harvesting sharing that one should avoid harvesting during wet or humid seasons. Al Balushi added that once the leaves are totally dried, a stick is used to hit the cut branches to force all leaves to fall off. These leaves are then collected and cleared of impurities such as weeds and small sticks. One properly cleaned, the leaves are sent away for grinding where they will be converted to ready-made powder. For many Omani households, henna is something that is used often as they not only aromatic in nature but are used for different medical purposes.