Mechanical pollination of palm trees tested

Mechanical pollination of the palm tree is the latest technique introduced by the Al Homraniya Agricultural Bio-Control Research Unit using the Indian and Bangladeshi sugar palm tree. Abdullah Khalfan Al Shariki, Director of the Northern Agriculture Region, said that the unit had been monitoring at least 800 male palm trees to see which was the best type to use to pollinate palm trees in the UAE.

He said extended research had shown that the sugar palm tree was ideal since the viability of its pollen was as high as 97 per cent, which could not be matched by local trees. The traditional hand pollination could only pollinate 15 to 20 trees per day while mechanical pollination could cover 200 trees.Dr Hassan Abdul Rahim Shabanah, an expert on the palm tree from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, said that it was the only tree which required external pollination. But hand pollination is time-consuming because it is necessary to climb the tree three or four times to do so.

However, using the seeds of the sugar palm tree and the new technique, large numbers of trees can be pollinated in a day or two. The extraction of the pollen involves several stages. First, the male flowers are removed and placed in a temperature-controlled drying room for a few days. Next, these flowers are put inside a pollen extracting machine.

Wheat is then added to reduce the concentration of the pollen. Then dusting machines with long pipes are used to pollinate the female flowers. Mechanical pollination is also advantageous in that any labourer can pollinate the trees, it minimises the quantity of pollen needed for each tree and ensures bigger and better production.

The unit obtained a sugar palm tree by chance and soon found that it had large quantities of pollen. Repeated experiments proved that it was the best choice, particularly for big farms. Shabanah noted that repeated use of this particular type could be harmful if used on a large scale. Therefore, the first generation of palm trees resulting from this type of pollination will be closely monitored. Even trees affected by the red weevil will be pollinated with the new pollen except for those in which the infection is severe.

The best solution is to cut away all the lower branches to see the extent of the infection. If it is widespread, the tree should not be pollinated. The number of palm trees in the UAE in general and Ras Al Khaimah in particular has been increasing despite the spread of the red weevil.