Determination of Pollen Quality and Quantity in some Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) genoyypes

The pollen grains of ten Cornelian cherry (cornus mas L.) genotypes were tested for the determination of viability, germination rate, pollen production level and morphological homogeneity in Arasbaran district of East Azerbaijan, Iran. Viability of the pollen was determined by Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) and Iodine-potassium iodide (IKI) tests. Pollen germination tests were carried out with Hanging Drop method in sucrose solutions of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% and in 0.03, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2% of boric acid. Also, pollen production and morphological homogeneity were determined by Hemacytometric method. The results showed that, in the TTC test, the highest percentage of viable pollen grain was found in C10 genotype (64.3%) and the lowest was found in C9 genotype (52.2%). Also, in the IKI test, the highest viable pollen was found in C5 genotype (87.2%) and the lowest in C8 genotype (74.2%). The Pollen germination rates were the highest in 15 and 20 % of sucrose and 0.03% of boric acid solutions. The maximum pollen production level was obtained from the C3 genotype. The morphological homogeneity level of pollens ranged from 96.7 to 90.5%.