However, until now no one has studied the effect of PEG on
pollen germination and growth of pollen tubes, which is presented
in this manuscript.
In general, the inclusion of PEG in the liquid medium improved
both pollen germination and tube growth for examined species and
varied according to PEG concentration. Regardless of the PEG concentration,
genotype has an effect on germination and length of
pollen tubes.
Pollen morphology and ultrastructure have been shown to be
correlated with growth habitat and pollination biology (Osborn
et al., 2001). Our results show that binucleate pollen grains of
Poˇzegaˇca plum retain viability 24 h after being exposed to dye. Binucleate
pollen has weaker germination but longer survival than
trinucleate pollen. It has been shown that plants which have binucleate
pollen grains are pollinated via insects, which agrees with
previously published results (Gottsberger, 1989).