A study on the pollen morphology of Khuzestan male date varieties by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Regarding the diversity of male date varieties in Khuzestan province used for pollination of female trees, the importance of pollen type in fertilization, its affect on quality and quantity of fruits and the prominence of their variation for breeding objects. In this study, the pollen morphology of 15 male date varieties were studied under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). For this propose, pollen grains were photographed at 500, 1000, 5000, 10000 and 20000 X in different angles and polar axis (P), equatorial diameter (E), P/E ratio, exine patterns were studied. Results indicated that date pollen is ellipsoid in shape; and exine is reticulate with a main fissure. There were significant differences in length and diameter of pollen grains under study. Maximum and minimum length belonged to Ghanami sabz (code 7) and Ghanami Shadegan (code 8), respectively and Samesmavi (code 1) and Ghanami Shadegan (code 8) had the max and min diameter respectively. Comparisons of the spectrum analysis of mineral composition showed that main elements of different studied date pollen grains are carbon, oxygen, chlorine and phosphorous