Abstract In this work we address two aspects of
eggplant flower biology potentially involved on the
efficiency of anther culture: the selection of the best
floral stage to extract anthers for culture, and the effect
of heterostyly in the identification of suitable buds and
anthers. For 12 different accessions, we determined
morphological criteria (length ranges) to identify buds
and anthers enriched in vacuolate microspores and
young bicellular pollen, the stages most responsive to
embryogenesis induction.