Seedless variety of date palm bears fruit in Ponnani sub-jail premises

To the surprise of Ponnani sub-jail inmates, this summer, the seedless variety of date palm that was planted by them, has borne bunch of fruits. With fewer summer showers and optimum high temperature, the climate turned favourable for the date palm to bear fruits.

Malappuram: About fourteen years ago, the inmates, along with the staff, planted a date palm sapling at the Ponnani sub-jail premises in Kerala's Malappuram district.

Surprisingly, this summer, the seedless variety of date palm that was planted has borne bunch of fruits.

With fewer summer showers and optimum high temperature, the climate turned favourable for the date palm to bear fruits.

The palm was nurtured by the inmates, who also look after a vegetable farm.

However, the prison authorities are waiting for the fruits to ripen as they are not sure if it is of edible variety or not.

The authorities, on a lighter note, remarked that the date palm is ‘safe and secure’ inside the jail premises.