Effect of different methods of pollination on fruiting and yield of wet season date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in Jigawa State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the effect of pollination methods on fruiting and yield of wet season Date palm. The experiment was set up as a complete randomized block design with three treatments, each replicated four times. The three treatments are; T1 (unpollinated), T2 (Pollination twice without protection) and T3 (Pollination twice with protection). Data were collected on fruit set, fruit drop, percentage of seedless fruits, fruit weight, pulp weight, seed weight, fruit size and bunch weight. The results indicated that pollination methods significantly affected fruit set, fruit drop, fruit weight, percentage of seedless fruits, seed weight, fruit size and bunch weight. Maximum fruit set was observed from pollination twice without protection (T2). Bunch weight was also higher in pollination without protection (T2) but it is not significantly different with T3 (pollination with protection). On the other hand, pollination with protection gives high quality fruits in terms of fruit weight, pulp weight, and less number of seedless fruits. The significant lowest yield per bunch was achieved by natural pollination (T1). The results suggested that pollination with protection of wet season inflorescences can substitute for natural pollination thus improving the quality of the wet season fruit and also reducing the need for further fruit thinning.