RESEARCH ARTICLE

Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 14 No. 2, December 2002, p. 24-33

FRUIT SET AND OIL PALM BUNCH COMPONENTS

MOHD HANIFF Harun* ; MOHD ROSLAN Md Noor*

ABSTRACT

Hand pollination was carried out using different amounts of pollen to produce different levels of fruit set in fruit bunches of 12-year-old DxP oil palms planted at Bangi, Selangor. Seventy ripe bunches were sampled and their fruit set ascertained. The fruit set ranged from 2% to 96%. Open pollinated bunches had a mean fruit set of about 80%. This indicates that the weevils were more efficient pollinators than hand pollination. There was an expected increase in fruit set with increasing amount of pollen from 0.0001 g to 0.01 g used in the hand pollination. The bunch weight increased with fruit set to a maximum of about 24 kg at 90% fruit set. Bunch development was affected by the increasing number of fertilized flowers, which increased the sink for carbohydrates. The increased sink under a limited carbohydrate supply led to a reduction in the mean fruit weight and an increase in parthenocarpic fruits in the inner bunch. The kernels had a higher priority for carbohydrate supply for their development than the mesocarp or shell

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* Malaysian Palm Oil Board,
P. O. Box 10620,
50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.