Electrostatic Precision Pollination: A Sustainable Approach to Date Palm Production

Sustainable orchard production requires precision pollination technologies that improve pollen deposition while minimizing application losses and supporting efficient biological input management. This study developed and evaluated a portable electrostatic pneumatic pollination system for date palm by integrating pneumatic conveying with corona electrostatic charging through sequential laboratory optimization and field validation. Laboratory experiments investigated the effects of airflow velocity, pollen-to-carrier mixing ratio, and electrostatic charging on material delivery rate, feeding stability, deposition efficiency, and electrostatic improvement. Airflow velocity and pollen-to-carrier mixing ratio significantly affected the material delivery rate (p < 0.001), whereas electrostatic charging did not influence pneumatic conveying performance. In contrast, deposition efficiency was significantly affected by all investigated factors and their interactions (p < 0.001), demonstrating enhanced pollen deposition while maintaining stable particle transport. The optimum operating condition consisted of an airflow velocity of 11.0 m s−1, a pollen-to-carrier mixing ratio of 1:8 (w/w), and electrostatic charging enabled, achieving a deposition efficiency of 86.4% with an electrostatic improvement of 46.94%. Field validation confirmed significantly higher fruit set than conventional pneumatic and manual pollination. The novelty of this work is the integration and experimental validation of electrostatic particles charging with pneumatic precision pollination through a laboratory-to-field optimization framework, providing a practical engineering strategy for sustainable artificial pollination in commercial date palm orchards.