Managing Fruit Production

To date, few studies have been conducted that quantitatively described fruit production in relation to fire, the primary disturbance agent in saw-palmetto country. Hilmon (1968) tagged 20 plants that had not been burned in 4 years and followed flowering and fruit production for the next 6 years. Number of fruit per plant was approximately 400 in 1961, 1963, and 1964. In 1960 and 1965, only 100 fruit per plant were produced, and no fruit were produced in 1965 even though 45% of the marked plants flowered. Fruit production was "scattered" during the first 4 years following fire. This response was hypothesized to be related reduced carbohydrate levels in plants following fire. It was found to take approximately 4 years following a winter fire (time of maximum stored carbohydrate level) for carbohydrates in the stems to reach pre-burn levels. Plants that were burned on alternate years seldom produced fruit, although flowering occurred in the spring following the burns. Mr. Ralph Hughes, Range Scientist for the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Tifton, GA, indicated to J. B. Hilmon that palmettos in south Georgia did not consistently set seed unless protected from fire for 5 to 10 years.

The past scientific work and casual observations of plant ecologists indicate that fruit production in saw-palmetto is tied to time since last burned. At least 4 years without fire may be required before the plant is physiologically able to expend the energy to produce fruit. Landowners who regularly burn their flatwoods and palmetto prairie pastures to stimulate grass production for livestock forage may need to lengthen the interval of burning if saw-palmetto fruit production becomes a planned objective for their operations.

Cautionary Note: Landowners wanting to manage for game and/or nongame wildlife populations on their property may not want to harvest all the saw-palmetto fruit that are produced each year. Most omnivorous species of wildlife readily seek out the fruit whenever it is available. It is presently not known what effect total removal of these fruit year after year might have on the resident wildlife populations that inhabit your property.

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