ASSESSMENT OF POLLEN QUALITY OF SOME APRICOT AND CHERRY CULTIVARS

Stone fruits species are one of the most economically important fruits worldwide and Turkey. Turkey is the major producer country for apricot and cherry. Because of several problems (especially self-incompatibility) experienced in fertilization and fruit set, researches on pollen quality and fruit set may be essential. In present study, some pollen quality parameters of three apricot and three cherry cultivars were investigated. Apricot cultivars were ‘CasnaDrenova’, ‘Ninfa’ and ‘Beliana’, and cherry cultivars were ‘0900 Ziraat’, ‘Lapins’ and ‘Summit’. Pollen viability assessment was carried out using 1% 2, 3, 5 triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) test. Pollen germination capability was investigated with agar in petri method by using 1% agar and 15% sucrose. In apricot, the highest pollen germination level was obtained from ‘Casna Drenova’ with 38.63 %. The lowest germination level was assayed for ‘Beliana’. There are any significant differences in pollen viability of cherry cultivars. Pollen germination of cherry cultivars was generally low. ‘Lapins’ was the best cherry cultivar for pollen germination with 17.56%. On the other hand, ‘0900 Ziraat’ had the lowest value of pollen germination (7.01%). According to results, there was relatively high level of variation in pollen quality parameters of apricot and cherry cultivars