In vitro Teasle Gourd Pollen Germination and Pollen Tube Development as Affected by Sucrose, Boric Acid, and Inorganic Salts

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe rapid rate of pollen tube formation in vitro exhibited by some plant species has become a model system for studying growth and development in plants during the past decades. In vitro pollen germination and pollen tube characters were examined as they were affected by nutrient media in Teasle gourd [Momordica subangulata Blume ssp. renigera (G. Don) de Wilde]. Concentrations of sucrose or boric acid, applied separately or in combination, and inorganic salts (potassium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, calcium nitrate) were used as growth media. The best pollen germination (49.82%), highest pollen tube length (77.81 μm), and maximum recovery (36.73%) of intact pollen tube were with 20% sucrose + 0.025% boric acid. Use of inorganic salts in low concentrations negated the benefits of sucrose or boric acid. Germination of pollen grain and subsequent growth of pollen tubes are at least in part physiologically independent in this crop. Considerable rupturing of pollen tubes in boron-deficient media and integration of pollen tubes in calcium-rich media occurred. Sucrose and boric acid beneficially influenced pollen germination and pollen tube formation in teasle gourd.