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Date palm hand pollination

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is dioecious and commercial orchards plant ~1 male palm for every 40-50 female palms. ICAR-CIAH Bikaner recommends manual pollination by inserting freshly opened male strands into emerging female spadix or using collected pollen suspended in talc/water applied with a powder-duster.

Key parameters

  • Sex System: dioecious - separate male and female palms
  • Male Female Ratio: 1 male per 40-50 females
  • Method: manual insertion of male strands or dusting pollen+talc on female spadix

Implementation and adoption

Pollination typically requires 2-3 visits per spathe and determines fruit set, size and shape of the resulting crop on the female palm.

See also: Date Palm Barhi.

References

  1. Varieties - ICAR-CIAH Bikaner. https://ciah.icar.gov.in/variety.php
  2. Date palm technical brief - ICBA. https://www.biosaline.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/date-palm-technical-brief_0.pdf