Effects of boron and gibberellic acid on in vitro pollen germination of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.)

This study was conducted on male pistachio cultivars which consisted of Uygur, Atli, Kaska, Sengel and Kavak to study the influence of boron and gibberellin on pollen germination in vitro. Pollen was sown in germination media that included 20% sucrose, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm boric acid (H3BO3) and gibberellic acid (GA(3)), separately. It was found that pollen germination for all cultivars were greatly reduced with increased GA(3) concentration in the germination medium and reached the lowest value at the 100 ppm GA(3) whereas germination was decreased up to 25 ppm in H3BO3 and gradually increased again to 100 ppm. With the mediums of boric acid and gibberellic acid ranging from 0 - 100 ppm, the amount and pattern of response in pollen germinability varied among cultivars considerably. Pollen germination was severely inhibited by GA(3) and slightly promoted by boron. The results suggest that gibberellic acid had adverse effects on pollen germination of pistachio.