Using scanning electron microscopy to characterise plum (prunus domestica l.) Genotypes

Abstract

Pollen grain micromorphological characterisation of four plum (Prunus domestica L.) genotypes from two different breeding programmes (Fruit Research Institute, Serbia, and Hohenheim, Germany) was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The studied characteristics were pollen size and shape, colpus length, mesocolpium width as well as exine characteristics. All genotypes had tricolpate pollen grains and striate exine ornamentation, with more parallel longitudinal ridges. The most significant differences among the analysed genotypes concerned the length of the pollen grain and exine sculpturing. The genotypes Pozna Plava', Presenta' and 'Caanska najbolja' had the largest pollen grains ( GT 57 mu m), whereas `Hanita' showed a smaller pollen size, below 54 mu m. Pozna Plava' had perprolate pollen in the equatorial view (LAW ratio 2.06), while the other three genotypes had prolate shaped pollen. By analysing the pollen morphological characteristics of the plum varieties in this paper, primarily the shape, size, length of colpi and, most importantly, the sculpture of the exine, each variety showed a specificity which can be used together with other morphological characteristics for description and characterisation.