Pollen Collection

Abstract

Collection of pollen grains in viable condition is the primary requirement for any experimental study on pollen. Pollen responses vary considerably among individuals of a species as well as among different samples from the same individual. Responses of pollen collected during early, middle, and late periods of the flowering season, and at different times of the day, also vary. Environmental changes, genotypic differences, and the vigor and physiologic status of plants contribute to such variability. Generally, pollen collected soon after anther dehiscence gives optimal response. For uniform results it is desirable to use pollen collected from plants of known genotype and the same age, and grown under similar conditions. To minimize variability in response, it is necessary to pool pollen collected from various flowers/plants and then use it for all the treatments in a given experiment.