Effect of sulfur on pollen germination of Clemenules mandarin and Nova tangelo

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 11; p. e14775
• Main Authors: Beltrán, Roberto, Cebrián, Nuria, Zornoza, Carlos, García Breijo, Francisco, Reig Armiñana, José, Garmendia, Alfonso, Merle, Hugo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 07.02.2023; PeerJ, Inc; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Agricultural management; Agricultural Science; Ammonium sulfate; Ammonium sulphate; Boron; Citrus; Citrus clementina; Citrus fruits; Citrus paradisi; Citrus reticulata; Copper sulfate; Cytotoxicity; Flowers; Fruit; Gamma rays; Germination; Inorganic sulfur; Mandarin; Plant reproduction; Plant Science; Pollen; Pollen tube; Pollen tubes; Pollination; Seeds; Sulfur; Ammonium sulfate; Inorganic sulfur; Mandarin; Pollen tube; Copper sulfate; Pollination
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14775

This study aims to elucidate whether sulfur can inhibit citrus pollination by affecting pollen grains. For this, four sulfur-based products (inorganic sulfur, water dispersible granular sulfur, ammonium sulfate, copper sulfate) were tested to evaluate their effect on pollen germination and pollen tube growth of two citrus varieties: Clemenules mandarin ( ) and Nova tangelo ( x [ x ]). Pollen grains were extracted from the flowers of these two varieties and subsequently placed in Petri dishes with modified BK (boron and potassium) germination medium with six concentrations of the sulfur-based products (0.2, 2, 20, 200, 2,000, 20,000 mg l ). All the dishes were incubated and the pollen germination rate was calculated. All the sulfur products showed progressive pollen germination inhibition with a rising sulfur concentration. CTC50 (50% cytotoxicity inhibition) was around 20 mg l , with significant differences among treatments. Total pollen germination inhibition took place at 20,000 mg l . These results demonstrate that sulfur application can affect citrus pollination.