Abstract
A pollen selection study for drought tolerance using Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG) as a selective agent was conducted in sorghum. Ten genotypes of sorghum suitable for post rainy season were crossed to cytoplasmic male sterile line 104A and three genotypes to 116A producing 13 hybrids. Two sets of 13 hybrids with and without pollen selection were produced. PEG at 36 per cent was applied to stigma and stylar tissue one hour before pollination for pollen selection (selective fertilization) and no treatment for control (nonselective fertilization). Hybrids thus produced through selective and non-selective fertilization were tested in moisture stress environment during post rainy season. The hybrids obtained through selective fertilization produced significantly higher mean grain yield compared to hybrids obtained through non-selective fertilization. The results indicate that selective fertilization through in vivo pollen selection using PEG as selective agent was effective in improving moisture stress tolerance of the progeny in sorghum genotypes studied. Further, the pollen selection also had influence on plant height, panicle length, panicle width, panicle weight and grain mass. Thus,the pollen selection had a significant effect on grain yield through its components and developmentally related traits. Pollen selection for osmoticstress tolerance in sorghum influences the growth and vigour of the plants resulting in superior progeny in moisture stress environment. The analysis of individual crosses indicated that pollen genotype selection was able to favour performance of the progeny. However, the pollen selection had positive effect in majority of the hybrids and the study demonstrates the transmission of the selected trait from pollen generation to progeny.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anonymous, 1998. Vision 2020 NRCS Perspective Plan, National Research Centre for Sorghum. Hyderabad 30, India, pp. 85.
Blum, A., 1979. Principles and methodology of selecting for drought resistance in sorghum. Monografie Genetica Agron 4: 205-215.
Blum, A., 1996. Crop responses to drought and the interpretation of adaptation. Plant Growth Reg 20: 135-148.
Ceccarelli, S. & S. Grando, 1996. Drought as a challenge for the plant breeder. Plant Growth Reg 20: 149-155.
Chikkodi, S.B. & R.L. Ravikumar, 2000. Influence of pollen selection for Alternaria helianthi resistance on the progeny performance against leaf blight in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Sex Plant Reprod 12: 222-226.
Frascaroli, E. & D.D. Songstad, 2001. Pollen genotype selection for a simply inherited qualitative factor determining resistance to chlorosulfuron in maize. Theor Appl Genet 102: 342-346.
Frova, C., P. Portaluppi, M. Villa & M. Sari-Gorla, 1995. Sporophytic and gametophytic components of thermotolerance affected by pollen selection. J Hered 86: 50-54.
Hormaza, H. & M. Herrero, 1992. Pollen selection. Theor Appl Genet 83: 663-672.
Hormaza, H. & M. Herrero, 1996. Male gametophytic selection as a plant breeding tool. Scientia Horticulture 65: 321-333.
House, L.R., 1985. A Guide to Sorghum Breeding. ICRISAT, Hyderabad, India.
Kidd, G., 1994. Analyzing the future of worldwide agbiotech. Bio/Technology 12: 859-860.
Kovacs, G. & B. Barnabas, 1992. Production of highly cold tolerant maize inbred lines by repeated gametophytic selection. In: E. Ottaviano, D.L. Mulcahy & M. Sari-Gorla (Eds.), Angiosperm Pollen and Ovule: Basic and Applied Aspects, pp. 359-363. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Koval, V.S., 2000. Male and female gametophytic selection of barley for salt tolerance. Hereditas 132: 1-5.
Meliyan, L.G. & N.N. Balashova, 1994. Method of pollen selection in plants for resistance to phytopathogens (Exemplified by tomato). Sel' skokhozyaistvennaya Biologiyal: 121-129.
Mulcahy, D.L., 1974. Correlation between speed of pollen tube growth and seedling weight in Zea mays (L.). Nature 249: 491-492.
Patil, B.S., P.M. Salimath & R.L. Ravikumar, 2002. Standardization of in vitro pollen screening for osmotic stress in sorghum. In: Ramdane Dris & Catherine Bary-Ryan (Eds.), Plant Physiology: Characteristics, Breeding, and Genetics, 230 pp. Science Publishers.
Quesada, M., J.A. Winsor & A.G. Stephenson, 1996. Effects of pollen competition on the reproductive performance in cucurbit hybrids (Cucurbitaceae): F1 and back cross generations. Can J Bot 74: 1113-1118.
Ruiter, R.K., G.J, Van Eldik, M.M.A VanHerpen, J.A.M. Schrauwen & G.J. Wullems, 1999. Hydration-dependent gene expression in Brassica oleracea anthers. Sex Plant Reprod 12: 135-143.
Simon, C.J. & J.C. Sanford, 1986. Induction of gametic selection in situ by stylar application of selective agents. In: D.L. Mulcahy, G.B. Mulcahy & E. Ottaviano (Eds.), Biotechnology and Ecology of Pollen. Springer, New York, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Thomas, H., 1997. Drought resistance in plants. In: A.S. Basra & R.K. Basra (Eds.), Mechanisms of Environmental Stress Resistance in Plants, pp. 1-42. Harwood academic publishers, India.
Wenzel, W.G., 1999. Effect of moisture stress on sorghum yield and its components. South African J Plant and Soil 16: 153-157.
Winsor, J.A., L.E. Davis & A.G. Stefenson, 1987. The relationship between pollen load and fruit maturation and the effect of pollen load on offspring vigor in Cucurbita pepo. Am Nat 129: 643-656.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ravikumar, R., Patil, B. & Salimath, P. Drought tolerance in sorghum by pollen selection using osmotic stress. Euphytica 133, 371–376 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025702709095
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025702709095