Abstract:
Slope and the direction ofthe slope have great impact on linght interception mainly in
the morning and the afternoon. The light interception by the plant grown in the sloping area
may effect growth and yield of certain crops.The objective of this research is to asses the
impact of pollination, slope and slope direction on oilpalmproductionandto determine the
effectivity ofnatural pollination onfruit setand development. Thefield experimentalwere arranged in asplit plot design,where fivepatternsof slope such as0-4%, 12-24%east-west, 2 12-24%west-east, 24-38%east-west,and 24-38%west-east were assignedas the main plot
and two types of pollination such as assisted pollination and natural pollination as sub plot.
Planting material from varietas Marihat with year of planting 1996, there were 3 replication every combination in 3 slope direction (0-4%, 12-24% TB, 12-24%BT, 24-38%TB and 24-38% BT) with 2 method of pollination that`sway there are 30 palms as sample.Polen used for assisted pollination were obtainedfron the plant grown according the slope. Data collected were thenumberofnormal fruit per bunch, numberofpartenocarphyfruit, fruit weight,
kernelweight, fresh bunch weight and the ratio of fruit to bunch.For natural pollination, the numberoffruitset and partenocarpic fruits were higher in the flat land (slope of 0-4%)while for controlled assisted pollination, the highest number of fruit set and partenocarpic fruits were found in the slope of 24-345. Fruit and kernelweightincreased on theslope of 12-24%
compared to those in the flate land. Natural pollination were more effective in the area with the slope less than 24%, while controlled assisted pollination resulted higher fruit and kernel weight than that produced through natural pollination. Lower fruit weight in the slope of 24-38% west east produced by plants through natural pollination was due to greater number of normal fruitsresulted the lesser assimilate partition to the individual fruit.
