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Determination of pollen
viability, germination ratios and morphology of eight
apricot genotypes
Bayram Murat Asma
Department
of Biology, İnönü University, Malatya, Turkey, 44280.
E-mail:
basma@inonu.edu.tr.
Tel: +90
442-341 0010/3172. Fax: +90 442-341 0010.
Accepted
21 October, 2008 |
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Turkey is a leading apricot producing country, with the
majority of dried apricot production centered in Malatya.
Currently, there are breeding programs to develop superior
apricot cultivars for several different utilizations.
Determining the components of reproduction biology is
critical for optimizing yields from apricot orchards and is
therefore important for breeding programs. In this study,
the pollen viability and germination ratios were determined
for eight apricot cultivars. The genotypes tested included a
local cultivar (Kabaaşı), foreign-origin cultivars (Roksana
and Canino), and selections from the İnönü University
program (Levent, Özal, Akyürek, 44-2005-01, 44 K 07). The
results indicated that viable, semi-viable and dead pollen
rates differed among cultivars, where Roksana had the least
amount of viable pollen (41.5%). The genotypes had their
highest germination rates at 20°C, whereas Roksana and Levent had the lowest germination
rates (46.8 and 48.5%). The germination rates were also
affected by sucrose concentrations, and media containing a
15% sucrose concentration had the highest germination rates,
while Roksana again had the lowest germination rate
(36.4%). While the differences in anther number/flower were
not significantly different among genotypes, there were
significant differences in pollen number for both anther and
flower bases. 44-2005-01 and Canino had the highest pollen
numbers. Pollen morphology was also evaluated using a
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Although some size and
index differences were measured, the pollen of the genotypes
was generally similar in morphology. The findings provide
important insight into improving our understanding of
apricot reproduction biology.
Key
words:
Flower biology, malatya, Prunus armeniaca, scanning
electron microscope. |
