ISHS Acta Horticulturae 288: VI International Symposium on Pollination
THE POLLEN AS AN ATTRACTION PARAMETER FOR POLLINATORS TO SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS L.) |
| Authors: | Y. LOUBLIER, V. DUCRUET, M.-H. PHAM-DELEGUE, P. DOUAULT, F. VEAR, C. DEGAS, C. MASSON |
| Abstract:
In the sunflower crop, the creation of hybrid varieties requires to take into account attraction parameters for pollinating insects; in this regard, pollen is a major cue. An attempt to characterize genotypes according to their pollen production and the biochemistry of the pollenkitt is described herein. Pollen production : an automatic method for counting pollen grains using a Coulter Counter apparatus is set to quantify the pollen production of fertile male inbreds and their hybrids. The results show an important variability, differences between genotypes and parental effect, with however a high interaction for parental inbreds. The significant differences between genotypes allow to expect a possible selection of varieties upon a higher or lower pollen production. Pollenkitt characterization : the biochemical composition of the lipid outer coat is analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative analysis is carried out from the splitting on a silicic acid column Sep Pak into different classes (hydrocarbons, triacylglycerols, sterols, monoacylglycerols, diacylglycerols), and the separation by thin layer chromatography on silica gel G in a single dimension. In a first step, we focus the qualitative analysis of the free fatty acids using a gas chromatography method. This set of data is to be considered together with other plant paramaters, such as aromas and nectar, in order to better define the pattern of chemical cues underlying the pollinators foraging behavior. | |
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