THE DATE PALM. 



(2) 47 per cent, of the trees which in a wind-pollinated 

 plantation would be males and bear no fiuit can 

 be replaced by good fruit-bearing females, and 

 therefore practically double the crop of fruits can 

 be got from a given area of land with the same water- 

 supply ; the only difference in annual costs to the 

 growers being those of the labour of hand pollina- 

 tion of the trees and the collection and disposal of 

 the extra fruits. 



69. When date-flowers are pollinated, all three carpels in 



the female flower are usually fertilised and begin 



Falling of two of ^ 



the three fruits from to develop (see illustration No. 18, page 12a). 



a female flower. 



When the fruits get to about the size ot 

 peas, two of the three fruits fall off and one date fruit only 

 is left to develop and ripen in each flower (see illustration 

 No. 18D, page I2d and illustration No. 33 opposite). This 

 usually happens in April or early May in the western side of the 

 Punjab. 



70. If these carpels begin to develop without being 



fertilised, all three dates may remain on the 



Seedless dates and ,, 



their relation to flower, but they will be seedless and generally 



pollination. _ T 



ot poor quality (see illustration No. 33 opposite). 

 When a large number of seedless dates are found, it may usually 

 be concluded that fertilisation has been defective, as the absence 

 of the seed in a date is in most cases due to the ovule not being 

 fertilised. In cases in which seedless dates are got, if hand 

 pollination has been employed, the method of performing it, 

 the stages of development of both the male and female flowers, 

 the rainfall, etc., at the time of pollination, should all be 

 carefully looked into. If the trees were pollinated by natural 

 agencies, the number of male trees around, their distances from 

 the female plants, the direction of the wind and the rainfall at the 

 flowering period, etc., should all be carefully considered. Notes 

 on such cases would be very acceptable to the Agricultural 

 Department 



