The fate of pollen and pollen tubes can have a profound effect on fruit and seed production. Experiments were conducted to investigate pollen
viability, in vitro pollen germination and in vivo pollen tube growth in the biofuel seed crop Jatropha curcas. It was possible to distinguish between
fresh and dead pollen using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazoliumchloride (TTC). Pollen germination was significantly higher in an agar-based medium composed
of sucrose, boric acid and calcium nitrate compared with the control and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) treatments. Pollen from hermaphrodite flowers had
lower viability, lower germination rates and shorter pollen tubes, with abnormal shapes, compared to the pollen from male flowers. Pollen tubes from
both self- and cross-pollinated flowers entered the ovary within 8 h after pollination, thus confirming earlier reports of self-compatibility in this species.
© 2011 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.