Pollen phenotyping and performance in the rocoto chili (Capsicum pubescens Ruiz & Pav., Solanaceae)

BO L.; CARRIZO GARCÍA C.

GRANA

TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS

Lugar: Estocolmo; Año: 2015 vol. 54 p. 37 - 44

0017-3134

The rocoto chili (Capsicum pubescens Ruiz & Pav.) is a species native to the highlands of South America, and is cultivated for its fruits. The species is regarded as self-compatible; however, self-incompatible strains and even a variable degree of self-incompatibility have been found. To characterize pollen grains and determine whether there is also variation in pollen performance and male fertility in the species, pollen morphology, cellular state, starch content, viability, longevity and germinability were analyzed in plants obtained from the germplasm cultivated in Argentina. All the individuals studied were male fertile, showing a high percentage of vital pollen, capable of germinating in vitro. Some pollen features were uniform (e.g. exine sculpture, number of nuclei at maturity), but there were significant variations in pollen performance among the plants studied.