Inflorescence Traits and Pollen Germination Characteristics of Castanea henryi
Inflorescence Traits and Pollen Germination Characteristics of Castanea henryi
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Desert Ballroom: Salons 7-8 (Desert Springs J.W Marriott Resort )
A field investigation was conducted on the inflorescence characters, floral dynamic of male flower, and pollen viability of 14 cultivars of Castanea henryi by field observation and indoor trials. The results were as follow. 1) The male flowers initiated bloom in May and reached their full-bloom stage within 3 to 5 days. 2) The male inflorescence of 14 varieties had different length, but similar in the number of flowers. The male inflorescence of ‘Chushuhong’ was the longest one at 17.78 cm and ‘Yuandizi’ was the shortest at 10.51 cm. The length of male inflorescence was longer than the bisexual inflorescence and the shortest length between male and female flowers of bisexual florescence correlated with the total length of bisexual inflorescence. 3) There was significant difference on pollen germination percentage among cultivars. The pollen germination rate of ‘Yuandizi’, ‘Caizhen’, ‘Maisaizi’, and ‘Tiezhen’ was higher( > 30.00%) than the pollen germination rate of ‘Youzhen’, ‘Wenyanghong’, ‘Bailuzi’, ‘Chushuhong’, and ‘Huangzhen’ ( < 20.00%). Growth regulators affected the pollen germination of 'Changmangzi'. Pollen germination percentage under 0.10 g·L-1 H3BO3 was 38.12%, which was significantly higher than that(29.59%)of the control. Proper concentrations of 2,4-D, GA3 and IBA could significantly promote the pollen germination, especially, IBA at 5.0 mg·L-1 increased the pollen germination rate to 56.48%, which was 26.89% higher than that of the control. No significant pollen germination percentage was observed under NAA and 2,4-D treatments.