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being conducted on artificial pollination. The male 
and female inflorescences are produced on the same 
palm but not necessarily at the same time and, as 
the flowers on the female inflorescences remain in 
a receptive condition for a period of only two days 
after the opening of the flowers, it is frequently 
necessary to obtain pollen from a male inflorescence 
on another palm, otherwise the flowers may not be 
fertilised. 
Where artificial pollination is necessary, a ripe male 
inflorescence, denoted by its strong smell of aniseed, 
is selected; after careful removal from the palm, it 
is held over a specially made funnel and shaken so 
that the pollen grains fall into a suitable receptacle 
placed under the funnel. The pollen should be 
collected in the afternoon and, the following morn- 
ing, is dusted on to the female inflorescences ready 
for pollination. 
While artificial pollination may be advisable in the 
case of young palms, it may be found unnecessary 
in the case of older ones, which may be sufficiently 
pollinated by natural agencies. Experiments in 
artificial pollination have shown that it can be over- 
done, but it remains to be determined to what extent 
it can be carried out successfully in actual practice 
over a continuous period. In some cases, more 
particularly on poor land, over-pollination by artificial 
methods has resulted both in the reduction of the 
size of the fruit and the percentage of pericarp. 
Pests and Diseases . — So far, the oil palm does not 
appear to have suffered greatly from the attacks 
of insect pests or fungoid diseases; but, with an 
