Salak questions!

[shafak]

Hi.

I just received some Salak fruits from Thailand.  One is Sumalee and the other was simply labeled Salak Indo, so I am assuming it would be Salak Pondoh. 

I have a few questions about the seeds as well as pollination:

1) The seeds vary in size with some being more than double the size of the smallest seeds.  Does the size of the seed affect the fruit bearing quality or quantity of the plant?

2)  A few seeds are light and creamy in colour as opposed to the normal brown coloured seeds.  Are these immature seeds or will they germinate?

3) Salaks belong to the Arecaceae family to which also belongs the Palmyra palm here in Tamil Nadu.  As Palmyra palms are never hand pollinated and yet set fruit, what are the possiblity of salaks setting fruit without the need for any manual pollination?

4) I plan to grow both these cultivars (Sumalee and Pondoh) within the same area.  What are the chances of cross pollination assuming both types flowers at the same time and there are favourable pollinators around?

[Jaboticaba45]

Salaks are diecious, so there are male and female selections. Certain varieties are self fruitful like bali.
I'd plant all the seeds and then slowly cull most of the males once they flower.
Manual pollination isn't required, the bugs and insects should do it. Also, it's not a good idea either as they are super thorny - there's stories of people losing their eyes.

Seed color shouldn't matter. Mature seeds from the wallichiana variety were light brown in color vs. some others like gula pasir being black. I'd plant them anyways.

[Mike T]

Sumalee is a sala and you need both sexes. It is the best thai cultivar but cant cross with S.salacca. Even balis are indos bts. White seeds are dead but brown seeds of any size are ok. In S.wallichiana with a sala level of development 3 loculed fruit produce mostly female trees  one and 2 loculed fruit mostly males. The number of flat surfaces on the seed will reveal the number of locules the fruit had.

[Chandramohan]

Sumalee is a sala and you need both sexes. It is the best thai cultivar but cant cross with S.salacca. Even balis are indos bts. White seeds are dead but brown seeds of any size are ok. In S.wallichiana with a sala level of development 3 loculed fruit produce mostly female trees  one and 2 loculed fruit mostly males. The number of flat surfaces on the seed will reveal the number of locules the fruit had.

Does the no of locules apply to S.salacca also?

[Mike T]

Not to my knowledge and they are nearly all 3 loculed. Pondoh is the same as yogyarta. Bali vars. Boni and gula pasir are at the top of the hitlist for salak enthusiasts

[shafak]

Thanks for the replies all. 

BTW Mike, the reason I mentioned pondoh is that from what I researched online, it's this variety that is grown commercially in Thailand. 

About boni, you had mentioned elsewhere that these too are monoecious.  But I see some Indonesian sellers selling supposedly male and female seeds separately?