NAN-AE-2
Date-palm
By Muhammad Nasir Bashir
Dutse, Jan. 23, 2017 (NAN) The Dutse Date Palm substation of National Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) in Jigawa says farmers should refrain from cutting down male date palm trees so as to forestall the plant’s extinction.
Mr Abdulhamid Hamza, the officer in charge of the substation, gave the advice in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Dutse.
He said that the male date palm tree, apart from being a good source of revenue, was required to pollinate its female variant in order to produce fruits.
“Pollen is produced by the male date palm tree, while the female date palm tree needs the pollen to produce fruits,’’ he said.
Pollen is a fine to coarse powdery substance, which comprise pollen grains, male microgametophytes of seed plants that produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen is transported from plant to plant by wind, birds, insects or other animals to help fertilise the female variant of the plant.
Hamza underscored the need for farmers to stop cutting male date palm trees because “every year, a large number of date palm growers come to us in search of the dried pollen.”
He said that apart from pollination, male date palm trees are also used for landscaping and other environmental beautification purposes within and outside the country.
“Male date palm trees can fetch revenue for the owners, those who have the trees can also harvest their pollen and make money out of it,” Hamza added.
NAN reports that date palm is a popular plant that is grown in Dutse and its environs.
Its fruits have a lot of nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are essential for the normal growth, development and well-being of a person. (NAN)
MNB/JI/OOK
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Edited by Joseph Idika, Dayo Komolafe