Cryopreservation of Pollen for Long-Term Storage in Teak (Tectona grandis)

Abstract

AbstractStudies on in vitro pollen viability and feasibility of pollen cryopreservation in teak (Tectona grandis L.) was conducted at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessarghatta Lake Post, Bengaluru, during September 2021. Pollen germination was estimated by hanging drop technique using modified Brewbaker’s and Kwack (1963) medium which was prepared by using following protocol. The base medium constituted of sucrose (10%) supplemented with boric acid (100 ppm), calcium nitrate (300 ppm) and magnesium sulphate (200 ppm). The concentrations were altered based on the response of pollen germination percentage (%). The dried anthers with pollen were packed in butter paper covers enclosed in sealed aluminum pouches which were rapidly plunged into the cryobiological system containing liquid nitrogen. After 2 days of post-cryopreservation, the germination test was carried out to know the percentage of germination of cryopreserved pollen. The fresh pollen recorded germination percentage of 58.25% and it was 52.18% after 2 days of cryopreservation with 15% sucrose in Brewbaker and Kwack medium. The results indicated that there is no significant decline in the viability of cryopreserved pollen. The cryopreservation of pollen provides a constant supply of viable and fertile pollen to allow supplementary pollinations for crop improvement programs and can become an important component of national gene banks. The purpose of this chapter is to describe in detail a simple, fast, inexpensive, and widely applicable method for cryopreservation of pollen grains of teak.Key words Tectona grandis Pollen cryopreservationIn vitro germinationBrewbaker media