Pollen-pistil interaction studies in mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars

An attempt was made to study pollen-pistil interactions in four mango cultivars such as 'Amrapali', 'Mallika', 'Pusa Arunima' and 'Pusa Surya', developed at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India. The effects of self- and open-pollination on pollen germination, pollen tube growth, fruit set, ovule degeneration and growth of fruitlets were studied in the selected cultivars. It was observed that self-pollination resulted in rapid decline in fruit setting than open-pollination in 'Amrapali' and 'Mallika' as compared to 'Pusa Arunima' and 'Pusa Surya'. At 48 h after self-pollination, pollen tube growth in the stylar region of 'Amrapali' and 'Mallika' was considerably slower than 'Pusa Arunima' and 'Pusa Surya' and their pollen tube reached up to two-third of the stylar region. However, in case of 'Pusa Arunima' and 'Pusa Surya' pollen tube reached up to the micropylar end. Self-pollination resulted in 75% degenerated ovules in 'Amrapali' and 'Mallika', which dropped within 21 days after pollination (DAP). In contrast, open-pollination resulted in only 20% degenerated ovules in these mango cultivars. The growth of fruitlets and ovules obtained from self- and open-pollination revealed that the fruitlets weight and dimensions of fruitlets and ovules were significantly less in self-pollinated as compared to open-pollinated 'Amrapali', 'Mallika' and 'Pusa Arunima', whereas no significant differences were observed in fruitlet weight and dimension of fruitlets and ovules obtained in self- and open-pollinated 'Pusa Surya'. The present findings bring out clearly that mango cultivars 'Mallika' and 'Amrapali' are self-incompatible, whereas, cultivars 'Pusa Arunima' and 'Pusa Surya' are self-compatible. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.