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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2016, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (9): 189-196.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2015544

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Study of the pollen viability and stigma receptivity of Agastache rugosa from different areas

SU Yun-Yun, WANG Kang-Cai*, XUE Qi   

  1. College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
  • Received:2015-12-02 Online:2016-09-20 Published:2016-09-20

Abstract: A study was undertaken to explore the pollen viability, stigma receptivity and pollen morphology of Agastache rugosa from different areas. Pollen viability was evaluated by red ink method; stigma receptivity was evaluated by benzidine-H2O2 method; pollen morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that, the flowering habit was identical in the different areas under natural conditions. The majority of A. rugosa bloomed from July to August; the flowering stage of the populations was approximately 15-28 days and the life span of a single flower was about 3-5 days. The pollen viability of A. rugosa from different areas showed at first an increased and then a decreased trend with the increase of blooming time, with average pollen viability ranging between 18.46% and 26.52%. Among the five areas, the highest average pollen viability was from Chengdu and the lowest from Jilin. The life span of pollen was 4-5 days while stigma receptivity continued for 5-6 days. The stigma of A. rugosa from different areas had receptivity in the first day of blooming and higher receptivity in 2-3 days. This result indicated that the optimum artificial pollination time of different sources of A. rugosa is 2-3 days after blooming. The pollen shapes of A. rugosa from different areas were mainly spheroid and subglobose. The pollen size ranged between 42.93 μm×31.99 μm and 46.59 μm×37.67 μm. With 6 germinal furrows, the shape was long and narrow, almost reaching the poles. The surface emblazonry was netting and the shapes of pollen mesh were mostly irregular polygons to nearly round. These results provided a theoretical basis for the artificial cultivation and elite breeding of A. rugosa in the future.