Summary
Interspecific pollen competition among Populus deltoides, P. nigra and P. maximowiczii in fertilizing P. deltoides ovules was studied by using a pollen mixture technique, allozymes and leaf morphology. The frequencies of F1 seedlings of different paternities in pollen-mix crosses showed highly significant (P<0.01) departures from the 1∶1 ratio expected if pollen selection was random. P. deltoides pollen was the most competitive. The mean percentages of F1 seedlings of P. deltoides paternity in crosses with pollen mixes P. deltodes + P. nigra, P. deltoides + P. maximowiczii, and P. deltoides + P. nigra + P. maximowiczii were 95.0, 92.5, and 84.8, respectively. P. maximowiczii pollen was more competitive than P. nigra pollen, which was at a selective disadvantage. An average of 83.6% of F1 progenies of the eight crosses with P. nigra + P. maximowiczii pollen showed P. maximowiczii paternity. Also, in four crosses with P. deltoides + P. nigra + P. maximowiczii pollen, the relative proportion of P. deltoides × P. maximowiczii seedlings (13.4%) was higher than that of P. deltoides × P. nigra seedlings (1.8%). Pollen proportions in the pollen mixes and pollen size did not significantly affect the competitive ability of the pollen. The relative pollen competitive ability indicated reproductive affinities among the species.
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Rajora, O.P. Pollen competition among Populus deltoides Marsh., P. nigra L. and P. maximowiczii Henry in fertilizing P. deltoides ovules and siring its seed crop. Sexual Plant Reprod 2, 90–96 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00191996
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00191996