Floral and Pollen Studies of Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook. F)

The objective of this study is to investigate the occurrence of poor fruit set in Telfairia occidentalis, despite the prolific production of flowers in this plant. Consequently, the floral morphology of the male and female plants with respect to: pollen viability, pollen size count and pollen size distribution for aneuploids and polyploids were examined. Floral buds from the different (Telfairia occidentalis) plants were collected and the pollen viability was assessed using aceto-carmine stain. Pollen sizes were measured using a micrometer, and counted. Pollen fertility results obtained using the aceto-carmine method shows that pollen fertility in Telfairia occidentalis is very high with a percentage value of 93.6%. Pollen sizes were 60 to 68µm (54.9%), 48 to 60µm (25.48%) and 68 to 80um (17.64%). The relatively wide range of pollen size confirms the presence of aneuploids and unreduced microspores, as pollen grain size is proportional to chromosome number. The development of polyploidy among the land races of fluted pumpkin in Nigeria is thus confirmed. Keywords: Pollen grains, aneuploids, pollen viability, polyploidy, Telfairia occidentalis. DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/11-22-03 Publication date: November 30th 202