ISHS Acta Horticulturae 455: V International Mango Symposium
'TOMMY ATKINS' MANGO AS POLLENIZER FOR 'LILY' |
| Authors: | A. Dag, D. Eisenstein, C. Degani, R. El-Batsri, M. Zelig, G. Ziv, S. Gazit |
| Keywords: | Mangifera indica, isozyme, inbreeding depression, fruit set |
| Abstract:
Sixteen 'Lily' trees were enclosed in eight cages with beehives during the blooming period. In four of these cages, 2- year-old 'Tommy Atkins' ('Tommy') flowering plants were introduced. The presence of the pollenizer 'Tommy' did not significantly affect the percentage of effectively pollinated flowers. However, the number of normal (large) fruitlets per labelled inflorescence was twice as high in the presence of pollenizer as in its absence. At harvest, the average number of normal fruit per tree was only four without pollenizer, 14 with pollenizer. However, these differences were not significant. 'Lily' fruits (n=147) were collected from caged trees and their seeds were extracted and sown. TPI isozyme analysis of the seedling leaves was used to identify hybrids between 'Lily' (ab) and 'Tommy' (bb). The genotype segregation of 24 progeny from trees without pollenizer was very close to that expected for selfed progeny. The segregation of 87 progeny from trees with pollenizer was very close to that expected for crossed progeny (P<0.05). The calculated percentage of 'Tommy' offspring was 95 in cages with pollenizer, zero in cages without pollenizer. The number of flowers carried by the pollenizer plants was negligible as compared to that carried by 'Lily' trees. Thus, the overwhelming presence of hybrid fruits when trees were caged with a pollenizer indicates a strong advantage for cross- vs. self-pollination. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
