ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE METHODS OF POLLINATION IN DATE PALM (Phoenix dactylifera L.) CV

Artificial pollination is required to boost fruit set and increase economic production on the date palm tree (Phoenix datylifera L.). During the 2016 season, in the pedoclimatic conditions of Tinejdad, Errachidia area, Morocco, this study was undertaken at a private date palm production cv ‘Mejhoul' in a conventional farm. The goal of the study was to assess the efficacy of three pollination methods as well as their responses to fruit setting percentage, yield, and fruit attributes. Two pollinizers (symbolised M1 and M2) were examined together with three pollination methods: hand pollination, traditional technique, pollen dusting, and pollen liquid spray. Three female ‘Mejhoul' trees were chosen for the experiment; six spathes were chosen from the female tree, and each spathe was pollinated by one pollen source according to a procedure. During the ‘Tmar' stages, fruit samples were collected. Different pollination strategies had a substantial impact on all analysed parameters, and a metaxenic effect was detected between pollinizers, according to the findings (M1 and M2). Furthermore, the placement approach yielded the maximum fruit set of 65.06 percent and 59 percent, respectively, for two pollen sources M1 and M2. However, in the liquid spraying pollen approach for M1 and M2, the lowest fruit set (53.25 and 50.29 percent, respectively) was observed. Dusting pollen from pollinizer M1 produced the highest date production (58.23 kg/palm). For both pollinizers, the liquid spray of pollen approach provided the lowest yields (50.42 kg/palm for M 1 and 43.67 kg/palm for M2). Pollen dusting resulted in dates with the largest linear diameters for both pollinizers. Dates from M1 and M2 had lengths of 48.2 mm and 48.38 mm, respectively, with maximum widths of 24.97 mm and 24.72 mm. Hand pollination, on the other hand, generated dates with the majority of the M2 pollinizer's minimum criteria (fruit width: 22.17 g; fruit weight: 11.69 g; pulp weight: 10.59 g). The dusting of pollen approach was found to be effective in increasing the yield and quality of the ‘Mejhoul' date palm.

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