A method to estimate pollen viability from pollen size variation
- 1 June 2002
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in American Journal of Botany
- Vol. 89 (6), 1021-1023
- https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.89.6.1021
Abstract
The mean diameter of viable pollen grains is approximately 13 μm greater than the mean diameter of inviable grains in Mimulus guttatus. We show that this difference is large enough to be detected by particle counters and that these machines can be used to obtain a rapid estimate of pollen viability. While requiring a separate calibration, a size-based statistic is also strongly correlated with pollen viability in Collinsia verna. These results suggest that statistics derived from the size distribution of pollen grains may provide an alternative to more labor-intensive methods for estimating pollen viability, particularly in cases where inviability results from inbreeding depression or hybrid failure.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Science Foundation (DEB‐9903758)
- University of Kansas (DBI 0097223)
- National Science Foundation (DEB‐9807676)
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