Judean date palm human-assisted germination of a seed (the claim in 2012 of a 32,000-year-old arctic flower involved fruit tissue rather than a seed). The palm, named Methuselah (not to be confused with a bristlecone pine tree of the same name), was about tall in June 2008. , it is reported at high, having been transplanted from pot to earth. By May 2015, the palm was tall and was producing pollen. Even if the pollination of a female Judean date palm, grown of a seed from the same batch, with Methuselah's pollen should succeed, the resulting fruit would not represent the recreation of
Fruit tree pruning trees is usually to maximize fruit yield. Unpruned trees tend to produce large numbers of small fruits that may be difficult to reach when harvesting by hand. Branches can become broken by the weight of the crop, and the cropping may become biennial (that is, bearing fruit only every other year). Overpruned trees on the other hand tend to produce light crops of large, flavourless fruit that does not store well. Careful pruning balances shoot growth and fruit production. One of the simplest instructions given in nearly every article or book chapter on the subject is that no branches should