REPRODUCTIVE PHENOLOGY OF Pinus montezumae Lamb. II. EFFECT OF COLLECTION TIME AND STORAGE METHOD ON POLLEN VIABILITY I

Abstract

Pollen grains from five trees of Pinus montezumae Lamb. were collected at different times and were stored in two different types of containers and kept at low temperature (4±2 0 C). Each two months, pollen samples were cultivated in vitro during 72 hours in a 10% sucrose solution to evaluate percentage of germination, along a ten months storage period. Statistical analysis of the germination percentaje for the fresh pollen showed a large variation among trees and among dates of collection for some trees. This variation was also observed in the pollen lots along the storage period. Pollen lots stored in vacuum sealed ampules, inmediately lost of their original germination capability. However at the end of the storage period, they showed a higher viability than the pollen stored in plastic bottles.