Skip to main content
Log in

Biological features of flowers influence the fertility of Lonicera spp. cultivars

  • Research Report
  • Published:
Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fertility experiments were carried out on a plantation of haskap berries (40 cultivars) in southern Poland. Based on the observation of phenological phases, the cultivars were divided into three groups with similar overlapping periods of full flowering: the earliest comprising 11 cultivars; the moderate-early, 17 cultivars; and the latest, 7 cultivars. The attractiveness of cultivars for pollinating insects was evaluated on the basis of flower biometric measurements. Flowers are more diverse in length than in width of the sympetalous corolla, with the pistil always being longer than the corolla, which is conducive to effective insect pollination. A pollen viability coloring test and germination capacity on agar medium were used to assess pollen quality. Despite very high pollen viability (on average, 90%), the percentage of germinating pollen was very low and ranged from 3.3 to 34.5%. Pollen yields for each cultivar were calculated based on the number of pollen grains in the flowers. The cultivars differed significantly in terms of the number of pollen grains in the flowers. The cultivar “Morena” was characterized by the highest number of pollen grains (45,375), while the cultivar “Fialka” had the lowest (2750). Microscopic observations of pollen tube overgrowth through the style of the pistil after open pollination and self-pollination allowed for calculation of the pollen germination index (PGI) used to assess the fertility of the cultivars. Self-pollinated cultivars with a PGI < 2 were characterized by self-incompatibility. It was found that among the 40 cultivars studied, only the “Docz Velikana” cultivar exhibited PGI > 2, which proves the self-fertility tendency of this cultivar.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander MP (1969) Differential staining of aborted and nonaborted pollen. Stain Technol 44:117–122

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Antkowiak W, Wojciechowski A (2006) The evaluation of self-compatibility and crossability in the genus Pyrus based on the observation of pollen tubes growth. Acta Agrobot 59:91–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arus L, Kask K (2007) Edible honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea var. edulis)—underutilized berry crop in Estonia. NJR Rep 3:33–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Bors B (2009) Breeding of Lonicera caerulea L. for Saskatchewan and Canada. In: Proceedings of the 1st virtual international scientific conference on Lonicera caerulea L., vol. 23, pp 88–98

  • Bors B (2012) haskap breeding & production final report. January 2012 Final Report ADF Grant 2008-0042 University of Saskatchewan Canada

  • Boyarskikh IG (2016) Pollination biology and manifestation of parthenocarpy in Lonicera caerulea (Caprifoliaceae). In: Proceedings of XV international scientific-practical conference in Barnaul, pp 167–172 (in Russian)

  • Boyarskikh IG (2017) Features of Lonicera caerulea L. reproductive biology. Agric Biol 52:200–210 (in Russian, Abstract in English)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bożek M (2007) Pollen productivity and morphology of pollen grains in two cultivars of honeyberry (Lonicera kamtschatica (Sevast.) Pojark). Acta Agrobot 60:73–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bożek M (2012) The effect of pollinating insects on fruiting of two cultivars of Lonicera caerulea L. J Apic Sci 56:5–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Bożek M, Wieniarska J (2006) Biologia kwitnienia i wydajność cukrowa kwiatów dwóch odmian Lonicera kamtschatica (Sevast.) Pojark. Acta Agrobot 59:177–182 (in Polish, Abstract in English)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dane F, Olgun G, Dalgic O (2004) In vitro pollen germination of some plant species in basic culture medium. J Cell Mol Biol 3:71–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Frier SD, Somers ChM, Scheffield CS (2016a) Comparing the performance of native and manager pollinators of Haskap (Lonicera caerulea: Caprifoliaceae) an emerging fruit crop. Agric Ecosyst Environ 219:42–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frier SD, Somers ChM, Scheffield CS (2016b) Floral longevity, nectar production, anther dehiscence, and stigma receptivity in Haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.). J Pollin Ecol 19:81–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gawroński J, Hortyński J, Kaczmarska E, Dyduch-Siemieńska M, Marecki W, Witorożec A (2014) Evaluation of phenotypic and genotypic diversity of some Polish and Russian blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) cultivars and clones. Acta Sci Pol Hort Cultus 13:157–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo A, Huo JW, Dong Q (2012) Male and female gametophyte development of blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caeruela L.). Acta Hortic 932:101–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedhly A, Hormaza JI, Herrero M (2005) Influence of genotype—temperature interaction on pollen performance. J Evol Biol 18:1494–1502

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hormaza JI, Herrero M (1996) Dynamics of pollen tube growth under different competition regimes. Sex Plant Reprod 9:153–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hummer KE (2006) Blue honeysuckle: a new berry crop for North America. J Am Pomol Soc 60:3–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Król K (2017) Suitability of haskap cultivars for cultivation in Poland depending on their origin (in Polish). In: Proceedings of II international haskap conference, Poland, pp 19–28 (abstract in English)

  • Małodobry M, Bieniasz M, Dziedzic E (2010) Evaluation of the yield and some components in the fruit of blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea var. edulis Turcz. Freyn). Folia Hort 22:45–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marková R (2001) Study of vegetative, growing and economic character of genus Lonicera subsect. caerulea Rehd. In: Proceedings of 9th international conference of horticulture. September 3th–6th 2001. Lednice. Czech Republic, vol 1, pp 130–135

  • Masum Akond ASM, Pounders CT, Blythe EK, Wang X (2012) Longevity of crapemyrtle pollen stored at different temperatures. Sci Hortic 139:53–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClure BA, Franklin-Tong V (2006) Gametophytic self-incompatibility: understanding the cellular mechanisms involved in “self” pollen tube inhibition. Planta 224:233–245

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCubbin AG, Kao TH (2000) Molecular recognition and response in pollen and pistil interactions. Ann Rev Cell Biol 16:333–364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miyashita T, Hoshino Y (2010) Interspecific hybridization in Lonicera caerulea and Lonicera gracilipes: the occurrence of green/albino plants by reciprocal crossing. Sci Hortic 125:692–699

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson R, Slovin JP, Chen Ch (2010) A simplified method for differential staining of aborted and non-aborted pollen grains. Inter J Plant Biol 1:66–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plekhanova MN (2000) Blue Honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.)—a new commercial berry crop for temperate climate: genetic resources and breeding. Acta Hortic 538:159–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Saona C, Parra L, Quiroz A, Isaacs R (2011) Variation in highbush blueberry floral volatile profiles as a function of pollination status, cultivar, time of day and flower part: implications for flower visitation by bees. Ann Bot 107:1377–1390

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Solov’eva LV, Plekhanova MN (2003) Karyotype of blue honeysuckle species (Lonicera subset. caeruleae, Caprifoliaceae). Cytol Gen 37:34–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern R, Eisikowitch D, Dag A (2001) Sequential introduction of honeybee colonies and doubling their density increases cross-pollination, fruit-set and yield in ‘Red Delicious’ apple. J Hortic Sci Biotechnol 76:17–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Truta E, Vochita G, Rosu CM, Zamfirache MM, Olteanu L (2013) Karyotype traits in Romanian selections of edible blue honeysuckle. Turk J Biol 37:60–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuell JK, Isaacs R (2010) Community and species-specific responses of wild bees to insect pest control programs applied to a pollinator-dependent crop. J Econ Entomol 103:668–675

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Usyenko WI, Prischepina GA (2013) Analysis of genetic selection features of Lonicera caerulea edulis in the Altai Ob river area. Bull Altai State Agrar Univ 11:15–18 (In Russian)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mr. Tadeusz Kusibab for the plant materials; we are also grateful for the opportunity to perform research on the private collection of haskap. This work was supported by the Polish Ministry of Higher Education, DS 3500. We also thank Pik Instruments Co. for using the SEM microscope.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ewa Dziedzic.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bieniasz, M., Dziedzic, E. & Słowik, G. Biological features of flowers influence the fertility of Lonicera spp. cultivars. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 60, 155–166 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-018-0110-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-018-0110-3

Keywords

Navigation