Establishment of growth medium and quantification of pollen grains of olive cultivars in Brazil's subtropical areas

Abstract

Pollen grain germination in vitro indicates viability and consequently provides information related to fruit set. It also assists in the development of hybrids. Along with a suitable species, a standard culture medium is essential for evaluating pollen viability. It should contain a gelling agent consisting of carbohydrates and enhancer elements as well as have the correct pH, temperature, and incubation time. The objective of this study was to optimise the culture medium, determine the pollen germination capacity, and quantify the number of pollen grains per flower of certain olive tree cultivars. A basic sequential culture medium for pollen grain germination was determined, always utilizing the best result from the previous experiment to continue the sequence.The factorial treatment arrangement was: 1) agar versus boric acid; 2) pH versus sucrose; 3) calcium nitrate versus magnesium sulfate. After determining the culture medium components, two experiments were conducted evaluating temperature and incubation time. Another experiment evaluated both the germination percentage and the number of flower pollen grains of 28 cultivars. The culture medium should be composed of 4 g∙L-1 of agar, 90 g∙L-1 of sucrose, and 400 mg∙L-1 of boric acid with a pH adjusted to 5.79 and an incubation time of 60 h at 28 °C. The Manzanilla 215 cultivar had the highest germination rate while Ascolano 315 presented the highest number of pollen grains per flower.