pollen germinability and cross-pollination success in persian cyclamen (cyclamen persicum mill.)

Low seed yield is a limiting factor for cross breeding and hybridseed production in cyclamen. this study was performed to investigatepollen germination and its relation to cross-pollination success and fruitset in this plant. in order to achieve a high level of pollen germination, theeffect of different concentrations of chemical compounds were examinedon in vitro pollen germination of cyclamen in modified brewbaker andkwack medium, containing sucrose (10 and 20%), calcium nitrate (0, 200and 300 mg l-1), and boric acid (0, 100 and 200mg l-1) at two ph levels (5.5and 6.5). maximum pollen germination was obtained in media containinghigher concentration of calcium and boron regardless of sucrose concentrationand ph level. pollen germination percentage was genotype-dependent.cross-pollination was performed among four different genotypes characterizedby various pollen germination percentages. there was a direct correlationbetween cross-pollination success and pollen germination percentage.genotypes with 30% higher pollen germination led to 10% increase infruit set.