Irbid, Sept 13 (Petra) -- Pomegranate farmers in Koura district in Irbid Governorate have opened the harvest season of a key crop in the northern region, agriculture director Salem Khasawneh said Saturday.

The harvest season began early in hot and arid semi-Jordan Valley areas, known as the Ghor, and harvesting in other regions with milder weather will run until mid-December, he told Petra.

Koura, with an estimated pomegranate farmland of about 2,000 dunams, is one of the Kingdom's regions known for its orchards of the crop that grows on the banks of perennially flowing streams, such as Zaqlab, Abu Ziad, and Rayan, he said.

Among pomegranate varieties known locally are: Halawi, Hamadi, Lafani, Mawardi, Sharabi, Mawani, and Zaqlabi, he mentioned, and also listed numerous products made from pomegranates, including juice, molasses, vinegar, jam, pomegranate seed oil, soap, and natural pomegranate peel powder.

//Petra//SS