Pollen preservation potential of Imperata cylindrica — an efficient source for doubled haploid production in wheat

Pollen of two I. cylindrica genotypes, one having spike with brown anthers (Ic-Pbr) and other with yellow anthers (Ic-Pye) was collected from three collection environments (early, mid and late flowering) and preserved in sealed Petri dishes under three preservation regimes, P1 (4 °C temperature and 60% RH), P2 (–20 °C and 65% RH) and P3 (–80 °C temperature and 45% RH). The pollen viability and germination tests of the preserved pollen were conducted after every 15 days till complete loss of viability. The study revealed that Ic-Pbr was superior to Ic-Pye in terms of the mean absolute pollen viability (APV) under preservation conditions. Among the collection environments, pollen collected just after first anthesis, that is, early flowering was superior in terms of the preservation potential. The preservation regime, P2 was found to be best among the three for better preservation of I. cylindrica pollen. By utilizing the one month old preserved pollen for pollination of wheat spikes, pollen from P2 regime induced haploid embryos to the tune of 25.53%. The study concluded that by preserving I. cylindrica pollen at –20 °C, the period of DH production in wheat can be extended by at least one month. The preserved pollen will also open avenues for exploring the possibilities of inducing haploids in other cereals like rice and maize whose flowering does not coincide with I. cylindrica naturally