PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE STUDY OF POLLEN FERTILITY OF SOME CHERRY FORMS BREEDING OF THE RUSSIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF FRUIT CROP BREEDING

Abstract

Fertility of pollen grains is their ability to induce full fertilization. This parameter is one of the most important in the selection of pairs when crossing all fruit crops, including sour cherry. The determination of this parameter in selected and elite forms of sour cherry is an urgent direction in breeding. The purpose of these studies was to determine the fertility of pollen in four selected and elite forms of sour cherry breeding in the Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crops Breeding (RRIFCB). The studies were conducted at the laboratory of cytoembryology over 2 years, from 2019 to 2020, and their results are preliminary. As objects of research, 4 selected and elite forms of sour cherry, with high taste and marketability, were taken. The sour cherry variety Turgenevka, obtained at RRIFCB, was chosen as a control. The collection of pollen from cherry forms to determine fertility was carried out during the period of mass flowering of trees in the first ten days of May. The anthers removed from the flowers were dried at room temperature, opened, and the spilled pollen was poured into parchment paper bags and stored in a desiccator over calcium chloride. Fertility was determined by the method of pollen staining with acetocarmine. According to the research results, it was established that, on average, over 2 years of research, cherry accessions 84847, 84854, 84735 stand out for a high degree of pollen fertility (more than 58.64 % in almost all forms), which makes it possible to recommend them for use in crosses to obtain new hybrids . The highest degree of fertility was observed in pollen of the control variety Turgenevka — it was 76.80 % on average over two years. The lowest fertility was observed in the sour cherry form 84595. In this case, it was only 29.61 %.