Pollen phenotyping and performance in rocoto chili (Capsicum pubescens Ruiz et Pav., Solanaceae)

Abstract

The rocoto chili (Capsicum pubescens) is a species native to the highlands of South America, which is cultivated for its fruits. The species is regarded as self-compatible; however, self-incompatible strains and even a variable degree of self-incompatibility have been found. To characterise pollen grains and determine whether there is also variation in pollen performance and male fertility in the species, pollen morphology, cellular state, starch content, viability, longevity and germinability were analysed in plants obtained from the germplasm cultivated in Argentina. All the individuals studied were male fertile, showing a high percentage of vital pollen, capable of germinating in vitro. Some pollen features were uniform (e.g. exine sculpture, number of nuclei at maturity), but there were significant variations in pollen performance among the plants studied.