Fruit set and oil palm bunch components.

Hand pollination was carried out using different amounts of pollen to produce different levels of fruit set in fruit bunches of 12-year-old DxP oil palms planted at Bangi, Selangor. Seventy ripe bunches were sampled and their fruit set ascertained. The fruit set ranged from 2 per cent to 96 per cent . Ofen pollinated bunches had a mean fruit set of about 80 per cent. This indicates that the weevils were more efficient pollinators than hand pollination. There was an expected in crease in fruit set with increasing amount of pollen from 0.0001 g to 0.01 g used in the hand pollination. The bunch weight increased with fruit set to a maximum of about 24 kg at 90 per cent fruit set. Bunch development was affected by the increasing number of fertilized flowers, which increased the sink for carbohydrates. The increased sink under a limited carbohydrate supply led to a reduction in the mean fruit weight and an increase in parthenocarpic fruits in the inner bunch. The kernels had a higher priority for carbohydrate supply for their development than the mesocarp or shell.