In vitro pollen germination of some wild species of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) using PGM droplet technique

Abstract

In vitro pollen germination is the most widely used technique for testing viability of pollen grains in a breeding programme. The germination medium (PGM) for pigeonpea species belonging to tertiary gene pool viz., Cajanus cinereus, Rhyncosia rothii and R. aureus has been modified from the earlier recommended medium. The improvement was done by adding poly ethylene glycol, which supported over 90% pollen germination and pollen tube growth of above mentioned species. It is expected that the use of the improved PGM will facilitate inter-specific and inter-generic hybridization imposed by biological barriers by resorting to pollen storage (in case of temporal isolation), in vitro fertilization and pollen selection etc. This is the first report of in vitro germination medium for these three tertiary gene pool species.