Investigations on the Pollen Morphology of Some Fruit Species

Morphological characters are used to identify plant material. Pollen morphology is an important parameter. This is of great importance in detailed investigations by scanning electron microscope (SEM). In order to develop a plant material identification tool, this research was carried out to determine the pollen morphology of some fruit species using SEM on apple, pear, quince, apricot, plum, peach, almond, chestnut, walnut, pomegranate, and persimmon cultivars. The surface features, as well as length, width, and P/E ratio of pollen were observed. Pollen length and width changed with investigated species and cultivars; the longest and widest pollen grains were detected in peach and walnut, respectively. The pollen, according to P/E ratio, was prolate, suboblate, and perprolate based on the material. Regarding the surface features, the ornamentation of pear, quince, plum, peach, and almond pollen was striate and tectum perforatum, whereas that of apple, chestnut, apricot and pomegranate was striate, rugulate, and tectum imperforatum. Walnut and persimmon had special surface characteristics.