Summary
Double pollinations of apple and pear may double the seed production, to which the second pollen can contribute 3 times as many seeds as the first (pioneer) pollen, when the interval between pollinations is long enough (48 h) at low (≃ 10°C) or short enough (7 h) at high (≃ 20°C) temperatures. With shorter or longer intervals, the contribution of the second pollen to seed production diminishes. The dominance of the second pollen was attributed to promotion by the first one, the second pollen probably being optimally stimulated when the tubes of the first have passed about 1/3rd of the style. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the pioneer pollen method to overcome incompatibility, depends on whether the interval between pollinations can be usefully adjusted to both the environmentally (temperature) and inherently determined rate of pollen tube growth of the species.
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Visser, T., Marcucci, M.C. Pollen and pollination experiments. IX. The pioneer pollen effect in apple and pear related to the interval between pollinations and the temperature. Euphytica 32, 703–709 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00042150
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00042150