Week 4

Lecture 3 (12)

Date Palm:
Propagation,
cultivation, pollination

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

Propagation
1. Sexual propagation
• If propagated through seed; do not produce
true to type plants
• Sexually prepared trees take longer time to
start blooming
• Xineal effect
• Meta xineal effect
2. Asexual propagation
Through suckers/ off shoots
a) Aerial suckers: modified shoots that are
produced on the main stem above the ground
they have no contact with soil
b) Lateral suckers: Produced along the base of the
main stem have contact with soil and have
sufficient roots
Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

Procedure of Asexual Propagation

Selection of suckers
1. Healthy, diseased free,
2. 2-3 year old
3. 10-15 Ibs weight
4. Initiation of roots for aerial suckers: these
suckers are injured or wounded and then
mounted with soil ----- start producing roots ------
then detached from mother plants
Time
Suckers are removed both in spring and Autumn
Can be planted any time
Date palm stops to produce suckers after 10-12 years
and during this time period it can produce 100
suckers

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

1
 Watering after transplanting
Care should be taken that one month immediately
after transplanting irrigation water should remain
standing in the filed for one month. Daily/
frequent irrigation is required

Removal of fronds at transplanting

Help to reduce transplanting shock
Outer whorl of fronds is removed

June-July plantation
If sufficient roots with suckers are present and
plenty water is available, June and July plantation
is more successful that spring and autumn.
Because it require high temp and irrigation water

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

Plantation of aerial suckers

As they contain weak roots
These are enforced to develop roots
Before actual plantation, they are placed in big
containers, containing peatmoss, saw dust or
even the sterilized sand
Some also treated with hormones like GA
Kept under controlled condition for short period of
time before transplantation
Some time base of aerial sucker is injured and
mounted with soil/media and forced to root
Some time base of aerial suckers dipped in 2000
ppm IBA and kept in 100% humid condition to
initiate roots

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

Planting distance
Usually 7 m
About 3% male plant
Some time square system

Pollination
Need cross pollination
1. Natural
2. Artificial
• Manual
• Mechanical

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

2
 Artificial Pollination
A- Hand Pollination
B- Mechanical Pollination
A. Hand Pollination
Male spathes are collected
Strands are separated in bundles of 2-3
Placed in sunshine for short period of time
A man caring bag of male pollen climb the tree and
pollinate the opened female flowers by shaking the
male flowers on the female inflorescence
The process has to repeat 4-5 times because
female spathes do not open at the same time
Under rainy weather have to repeat more times

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

A. Mechanical Pollination
Advanced countries
Done mechanically
Pollen are collected and are sprayed on the female
spathes through spray machine
Simple and easy
Spray machine can work at certain heights, some
tree very tall

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

Female tree at Flowers

flowering stage covered after
pollination

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

3
 Male flowers

Male and
female spathes

Female flowers

Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.

Man climbing on date palm tree for

artificial pollination

Collection of male strands with

flowers
Hort 502 – Production of Fruits IHS, Univ. of Agri. Fsd.