What is it about?
Pollen studies act as a prerequisite for choosing a compatible pollen parent and help plant breeders to achieve successful crossing between different cultivars. In this experiment 8 commercial genetically distant pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars for pollen morphology (shape and size) and viability. Hybridization studies were also carried out to assess the role of cross pollination in fruit set to infuse blood red aril colour and soft seededness in the selected cultivars.
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Why is it important?
To meet export market standards, the fruit has to be of a certain size with red-colored soft seeded arils. this is related to pollination success and consequently to seed number. Plant pollen has excellent genetic conservation and is not easily affected by environmental factors. Information on pollen characters, viz. pollen viability and pollen morphology are a prerequisite for carrying out a meaningful crop improvement programme.
Perspectives
The acceptability of a cultivar by the consumers depends largely on its fruit quality traits. With the increase in the base of pomegranate variability, it has become essential to further develop better cultivars through hybridization. Therefore, with a view to infuse blood red aril colour and soft seededness in some of hard seeded commercial cultivars, the present investigations were carried out.
Dr Rahul Sharma
Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Assessment of pollen morphology and hybridization in pomegranate (Punica granatum), The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, November 2022, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture,
DOI: 10.56093/ijas.v92i11.124062.
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