Do you know the stages of oil palm bunch formation?
Here are some of the stages:
- Pre anthesis flower is enclosed in the spathe.
- At anthesis, flowers are creamy white in colour.
- Post anthesis, flowers are pinkish red in colour.
- ‘Clove bunches’ have spines but very small fruitlets
- ‘Coffee bunches’ have small fruitlets.
- Black bunches have expanded, black, shiny fruitlets.
- Unripe bunches have not shed ‘loose’ fruit but may have changed colour.
- Under ripe bunches have <10 loose fruit.
- Over ripe bunches have shed loose fruit over >50% of the bunch surface.
- Rotten bunches have shed most of their fruits.
- Empty bunches have shed all their fruit.
![All stages of bunch development from female flower to ripe bunch and empty bunch All stages of bunch development from female flower to ripe bunch and empty bunch](https://i0.wp.com/www.tropcropconsult.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Flower-to-rotten.jpg?resize=997%2C196&ssl=1)
All stages of bunch development from female flower to ripe bunch and empty bunch