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Pollen-tube growth rate and seed-siring success among Betula pendula clones

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1999

H. L. PASONEN ,
P. PULKKINEN ,
M. KÄPYLÄ  and
A. BLOM
H. L. PASONEN
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, PB 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä, Finland
P. PULKKINEN
Affiliation:
Foundation for Forest Tree Breeding, Haapastensyrjä Breeding Centre, Karkkilantie 247, FIN-12600 Läyliäinen, Finland
M. KÄPYLÄ
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, PB 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä, Finland
A. BLOM
Affiliation:
Foundation for Forest Tree Breeding, Haapastensyrjä Breeding Centre, Karkkilantie 247, FIN-12600 Läyliäinen, Finland
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether genetically different pollen donors (Betula pendula clones) differed in pollen-tube growth rate across 11 maternal plants and in vitro, and whether the differences between the donors were consistent across the recipients. To compare the seed-siring success of competing pollen donors, a two-donor hand-pollination experiment with six donors and six recipients was conducted. The experiments were performed at a plastic-house seed orchard. The donors showed significant variation in pollen-tube growth rate on all the 11 recipients. The rankings of the pollen donors were statistically consistent across different maternal plants. A significant positive correlation between pollen tube growth in vivo and in vitro was found. The seed-siring success of two competing pollen donors was unequal in 20 of 29 cases and there was a significant positive correlation between seed-siring success and pollen-tube growth rate in vivo and in vitro. The results show that fertilizations are not random and pollen competition operates in a B. pendula seed orchard population.

Keywords

non-random fertilizationpollen competitionpollen tube growthBetula pendula (silver birch)
Type
Research Article
Information
The New Phytologist , Volume 143 , Issue 2 , August 1999 , pp. 243 - 251
Copyright
© Trustees of the New Phytologist 1999

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