Cell Separation and Anatomy of Abscission in the Oil Palm,Elaeis guineensisJacq.

Shedding of the fruit of the oil palm takes place in two co-ordinated stages. The first, a cell separation event at a pre-defined, positionally differentiated abscission zone at the base of the fruit, is followed by further cell separation in peripheral tissue at the junction with the rudimentary androecial ring and the tepals. The position of the second separation is determined by the age and ripeness of the fruit and the degree of pressure to which it is subjected; it is also dependent upon completion of the first stage. Implications of this unusual two stage separation process are discussed.