Control pollination and pollen management in Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.

et al. 2021

Plants

Changes in the proportions of male and female flowers in monoecious plants in response to external environmental conditions are directly related to the reproductive fitness of plants. The monoecious cucumber (Cucumber sativus) plant was used in this study to assess the responses of sex differentiation and the breeding process to nutrient supply and the degree of artificial pollination using pollen solutions of different concentrations. We found that the nutrient supply significantly improved the number of female flowers, while pollination treatments did not obviously increase the number of male flowers. Continuous pollination changed the number of female flowers especially in the later stage of the pollination experiment. Therefore, pollination changed the ratio of male and female flowers in the flowering stage of cucumber. Pollination treatment affected the fruit growth, seed set, and fruit yield. The number of fruit, fruit set percentage, and total seeds per plant did not increase with the pollination level, but individual fruit weight and seed number in one fruit did increase. The differentiation of male and female flowers in the flowering stage of cucumber is a response to nutrient and pollination resources, but this response is not the optimal resource allocation for subsequent fruit development and seed maturity, which suggests that the response of plants to external environment resources is short-term and direct.

Section: Pollination Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Patterns of Male and Female Flowers in Flowering Stage May Not Be Optimal Resource Allocation for Fruit and Seed Growth

et al. 2021

Plants

“…However, this method is not conducive to accurate control of the pollen concentration. Instead, we used a sucrose-pollen solution that has been used in other plants [65,66]. The anthers were collected from 10 male flowers from the pollen donors each day.…”

Section: Pollination Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The anthers were collected from 10 male flowers from the pollen donors each day. All stamens were cut and placed in a tube with 10 ml of 10% sucrose solution [66], and the tube was then vortexed for 2 min. This solution was used for the highest level of pollen concentration (Level 5) and was serially diluted to create the 4 lower pollen concentration solutions.…”

Section: Pollination Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are matching patterns of male and female flowers in response to nutrient supply and pollen concentration optimal for fruit and seed growth?

Zhai

et al. 2019

Preprint

Background: Changes in the proportions of male and female flowers in monoecious plants in response to external environmental conditions are directly related to the reproductive fitness of plants. The monoecious cucumber plant was used in this study to assess the responses of sex differentiation and the breeding process to nutrient supply and the degree of artificial pollination using pollen solutions of different concentrations. Results: We found that the nutrient supply significantly increased the number of female flowers, although the number of female flowers did not increase with the strength of the pollination. The number of male flowers did not decrease even under the low nutrient concentration; consequently, the matching pattern of male and female flowers reflects the response of plants to nutrients and nutrient resources during flowering stage. Pollination treatment affected the fruit growth, seed set, and fruit yield. However, the number of fruit, fruit set percentage, and total seeds per plant did not increase with the pollination level, although individual fruit weight and seed number in one fruit did increase. Conclusions: It is concluded that the response of cucumber flowering to external factors is direct and instantaneous, and this matching pattern of male and female flowers may not be optimal for fruit development and seed formation. Keywords: Cucumber, Plant fitness, Sex differentiation, Monoecious, Pollen resource

“…However, this method is not conducive to accurate control of the pollen concentration. Instead, we used a sucrose-pollen solution that has been used in other plants [60,61]. The anthers were collected from 10 male flowers from the pollen donors each day.…”

Section: Pollination Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The anthers were collected from 10 male flowers from the pollen donors each day. All stamens were cut and placed in a tube with 10 ml of 10% sucrose solution [61], and the tube was then vortexed for 2 min. This solution was used for the highest level of pollen concentration ( Level 5) and was serially diluted to create the 4 lower pollen concentration solutions.…”

Section: Pollination Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are patterns of flower differentiation in response to nutrient supply and pollen concentration optimal for fruit and seed growth?

Zhai

et al. 2019

Preprint

Background Changes in the proportions of male and female flowers in monoecious plants in response to external environmental conditions are directly related to the reproductive fitness of plants. The monoecious cucumber plant was used in this study to assess the responses of sex differentiation and the breeding process to nutrient supply and the degree of artificial pollination using pollen solutions of different concentrations. Results We found that the nutrient supply significantly increased the number of female flowers after pollination, although the number of female flowers did not increase with the concentration of the pollination solution. The number of male flowers did not decrease even under the low nutrient concentration; consequently, the optimal benefits under different nutrient and pollen resources in the environment were maximized when the number of female flowers decreased due to low nutrient levels after pollination. Pollination treatment affected the fruit growth, seed set, and fruit yield. However, the number of fruit, fruit set percentage, and total seeds per plant did not increase with the pollination level, although the fruit weight and seed number in one fruit did increase. The trade-offs for cucumbers associated with flower differentiation with respect to nutrient supply and pollination may not be optimal for fruit growth or seed set. Conclusions It is concluded that the response of plant flowering to external factors is direct and instantaneous, and there may not be an overall and long-term resource allocation for fruit development and seed formation.