Fruit production in kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) using preserved pollen
I. Abreu A B C and M. Oliveira AA Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Rua do Campo Alegre, 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal.
B Departamento de Botânica – FCUP, Rua do Campo Alegre, 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal.
C Corresponding author: email: inoronha@ibmc.up.pt
Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 55(5) 565-569 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR03211
Submitted: 16 October 2003 Accepted: 9 march 2004 Published: 8 June 2004
Abstract
The influence of temperature and storage period on pollen quality of Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C. F. Liang & A. R. Ferguson was studied. Pollen collected from male flowers was stored under different conditions (20°C, 65% RH; –20°C, 51% RH; –80°C, 55% RH and –196°C by direct immersion in liquid nitrogen). During the preservation period, viability and in vitro germination percentages were evaluated at regular periods.
The results show that –20°C was the best temperature at which to preserve pollen of A. deliciosa because it retains high viability and germination. At 20°C, germination was totally lost within 8 weeks, and at –80°C or –196°C germination drastically dropped over the same period of preservation.
In the 2002 blossoming season, the pollen preserved at –20°C was used for hand pollination in order to estimate its seed set capacity. Thirty days after fruit-set, all fruits were long and well shaped, indicating a successful pollination. Our results indicate a simple and reliable method to preserve pollen of A. deliciosa that can be easily used by farmers.
Additional keywords: fruit-set, hand pollination, kiwifruit, pollen germination, pollen viability, wind pollination.
Acknowledgments
Work supported by ACÇÃO DE&D from PROGRAMA AGRO (project 231: ‘Regularity of production, quality and storage ability of kiwifruit in Entre Douro e Minho e Beira Litoral regions’). The authors also thank Eng. Fernão Veloso and Eng. Anabela Veloso for all technical support. The constructive comments of the anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged.
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