Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) are cultivated in West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. Today, however, many date palms thrive and produce high yields in tropical countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Date palms can bear fruit without any special treatment. However, date palms need natural pollination to produce fruit. Therefore, date palms are planted in large populations with more than one tree. This is so that there are male and female date palms.
In Indonesia, date palms have been around for a long time, but they are planted individually as ornamental plants. Female date palms can produce fruit without pollination. However, the fruit production of unpollinated trees is low, and the fruit size is small and almost seedless.
It is possible to assist pollination by placing pollen on the pistils of date palms that are ready to be fertilized. A common male-to-female ratio is 1:15 to 1:40. If pollination is successful, the date palm will bear fruit in 2-3 months.
Maintaining a date palm is not difficult. Planters can routinely apply 3-5 kg/tree of fertilizer every 3-4 months. Don’t forget to remove weeds to prevent food competition. When the date palm is harvested, the fruit can be sold fresh or stored for a long time.
