Abstract
ABSTRACT This work evaluated the effect of pollination on the quality of seeds and plantlets of Eugenia uniflora L., as well as on the regenerative capacity of the seeds. Twelve individuals were monitored for their phenology and their floral visitors. Recently-opened flowers were subjected to self-pollination (SP), cross-pollination (CP) and natural pollination/control (C) treatments. The seeds obtained were evaluated for their germination and the resulting seedlings were transferred to a greenhouse and evaluated for their height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area and fresh and dry mass of root, stem, and leaves. SP, CP and C seeds were fractionated into two and four parts and evaluated for their ability to germinate and produce normal seedlings. Seeds and seedlings from manual cross-pollination were the most vigorous. The worst performance of the natural pollination (C) evidenced the pollen limitation caused by the scarcity of efficient pollinators in the study area.
Highlights
Eugenia uniflora L., a fruiting species of the Myrtaceae family, has hermaphrodite flowers with a high number of stamens
We evaluated the interference of reproductive processes on the regeneration potential of seeds
Eugenia uniflora L. has racemic inflorescences, with white flowers that offer only pollen as a resource and have many stamens organized in a shaving brush shape
Summary
Eugenia uniflora L. (pitangueira), a fruiting species of the Myrtaceae family, has hermaphrodite flowers with a high number of stamens. (pitangueira), a fruiting species of the Myrtaceae family, has hermaphrodite flowers with a high number of stamens. They produce large quantities of pollen grains, the main floral resource offered to visitors including wasps, flies, birds, and mainly bees (Proença & Gibbs 1994, Nic Lughadha & Proença 1996, Fidalgo & Kleinert 2009, Diniz & Buschini 2016). E. uniflora presents a mixed reproductive system, high levels of alogamy and autogamy, facing the advantages and costs of both systems, such as the possibility of adjusting the reproductive strategy to the availability of pollinators, the risks of depression due to inbreeding and the loss of well-adapted genotypes in cross-pollination (Lloyd 1992, Barringer 2007, Santos et al 2010, Franzon et al 2010). The ovary presents about twenty ovules per locule, the fruits produce, in general, a single seed leading to the supposition of seed abortion or a restriction on fertilization caused by genetic factors (Silva & Pinheiro 2007, 2009)
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