One of the most adequate criteria to identify buds and
anthers at their optimal stage is their length. For nearly
all species, it is known that bud length is directly
related with anther length and with the developmental
stage of their microspores or pollen grains. Therefore,
the microspore/pollen stage can be inferred from the
length of their corresponding buds and anthers. We
first checked whether in eggplant this correlation is
valid or not, at least at a qualitative level. As reflected
in Fig. 1, the use of this morphological parameter may
be useful in eggplant as well, since a clear correlation
between bud lengths and stages was evidenced.