Assessment viability and storage method for tomato pollen for seed production

Abstract

Tomato is an important economic vegetable crop. In the breeding process to develop new varieties and in the production of hybrid tomato seeds, high-quality pollen must be used. It is essential for the pollen to undergo an initial quality assessment prior to pollination. This study investigated a suitable dye for rapid assessment of tomato pollen viability, evaluated pollen germination by determining the optimal sucrose concentration to induce germination, and examined appropriate storage temperatures to extend pollen longevity. The experiment was conducted using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments and five replications. The results showed that 1% Acetocarmine was the most effective dye for distinguishing between viable and non-viable tomato pollen, with clear staining achieved in just 10 minutes. The optimal sucrose solution for inducing pollen germination was found to be 20%, resulting in the highest germination rate of 67.50%. Pollen stored at –20°C remained viable for up to 30 days, retaining 100% viability and a germination rate of 22.5%. When this stored pollen was used for pollination, the resulting fruit set was 42.27%, with an average fresh fruit weight of 26.50 grams per fruit and an average seed weight of 0.09 g/fruit. The seeds had a high germination rate of 99%. Therefore, the developed pollen preservation method can be effectively applied to tomato breeding programs and hybrid seed production in the future.