Pollen in vitro germination, viability and morphology of black chokeberry cultivar ‘Nero’ (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot)

Abstract

Black-fruited (Aronia melanocarpa [Michx.] Elliot) chokeberry belongs to family Rosaceae, subfamily Maloidae and has origins in eastern North America and East Canada. In the 1900s, chokeberry was transferred to Russian botanic gardens. From there, it spread in the European part of the country. The name chokeberry comes from the astringency of the fruits, and because of that, they are not favoured as ‘table fruits’. Black chokeberry is among the richest sources of polyphenols in the plant kingdom and has relatively high values of antioxidant capacity. Experiments so far have shown that Aronia species are self-compatible, and may therefore have a mixed breeding system where both outbreeding and self occurs. Some cultivars are bread of true black chokeberry while some are hibrid cultivars (e.g. Aronia × Sorbus). Little is known, however, about pollen performance in vitro of black chokeberry. The objective of the present investigation was to determine viability, germination and pollen morphology of black chokeberry cultivar ‘Nero’ (Aronia melanocarpa [Michx.] Elliot.).