Date Palm Not Producing Fruit

Q.  I have a
5-year-old date palm that this year for the first time had a wonderful display
of fruit. It is a Medjool date palm that I grew from seed. The fruits are at
least 1.5 in long and round. But now they are falling off in great numbers. I
thought that birds were on them thinking they were grapes which I have nearby.
But I have covered the Medjool dates with cloth and still they are all almost gone.
Another date palm nearby, a Deglet Noor (8 years old) has a great fruit set but
just very few drops. Could it be that my Medjool has not been pollenized?

A. Exactly right. The fruits dropping have not been
pollinated. No, or poor pollination, can happen for a number of reasons but I
am guessing the reason in this case is because there was no male pollinator in
the area with open flowers.

            I wish
it was easier but what can you can do, outside of planting a male Medjool palm,
is create a source of pollen for your female tree and hand pollinate the female
flower cluster when they open.

            You will
have to find a male Medjool date palm (flowers will be produced at the same
time as the female Medjool but not produce any fruit at all) that is low enough
to the ground for you to reach.

            When the
male tree is producing its floral spike next early summer and near flowering, prune
several spikes out and put them in a clean bucket of water. Move the bucket
close to the base of your palm and let the flowers open. Replace the water
daily with clean water.

            When the
flowers are open, shake the male flower spike and flowers pretty hard against
the female spike attached to the tree. Replace the male flower spike in the
bucket of water and repeat over the next couple of days as more and more
flowers open.