• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.73-78
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• 2007

Efficient pollination needs abundant fertile pollen in rose breeding. This study was performed to find out efficient staining methods for the detection of fertile pollen. Aceto-carmine and Alexander's stain gave similar results in terms of percentage of normal pollen. Fluorochromatic reaction (FCR) showed the lowest normal pollen percentage because FCR stained only fertile pollen while others stained cytoplasm. Toluidine blue O (TB) showed similar percentage of normal pollen to Aceto-carmine and Alexander's, but could not clearly distinguish the clustered abnormal pollens. Alexander's stain was easy and simple, but difficult to distinguish fertile and infertile pollen. FCR showed only fertile pollen. Alexander's stain showed approximate fertility and FCR showed exact pollen fertility.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.407-409
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• 2004

Thirty-nine out of eighty-five barley varieties/strains survived until heading stage in the saline experimental field $(0.03-0.05\%\;salt)$ and they were used for pollen study. Light and scanning electron microscopic observations revealed two distinctive types of barley pollens: one transparent and small in size and the other dark and larger. In addition, both types of pollens were stained with Alexander's stain and it was found that the smaller and transparent pollen was cytoplasm-devoid (CD) while the larger pollen was cytoplasm-rich (CR). Sixteen out of 39 barley varieties/lines grown in the saline soil had CR pollens, which were rarely observed in the barley plants grown in the non-saline soil. Moreover, it was observed that salt stress severely reduced seed setting in the varieties having degenerated pollens. These results suggest that salt stress affects the fertility of barley pollen. The sterile pollen was undersized and lack of cytoplasm probably due to abortion. Furthermore, a varietal difference existed in the response of pollen development to salt stress.