Floral Biology and in vitro Germination of Nasturtium Pollen Grains Grown With Poultry Litter

Abstract

The plant Tropaeolum majus, popularly known as nasturtium, presents food, ornamental and medicinal importance. Studies on floral and carpometric characteristics generate basic knowledge for areas of science such as botany, genetics and plant breeding. This work has the objectives of analyzing the effect of combinations of doses of poultry litter on floral structures and the in vitro germination of T. majus pollen grains. From the experimental matrix Plan Puebla III were defined 9 combinations of poultry litter doses incorporated and covered. The design of the experiments was entirely random, varying the replicates number. The number of stamens, petals, sepals and carpels was verified per floral bud in each treatment. The in vitro germination rate of pollen grains was estimated in 5 culture media and 2 germination times, from flower buds randomly collected in the experiment. The overall mean of stamens, sepals, petals and carpels per floral bud was 8.23; 5; 5 and 3, respectively. The combinations of poultry litter doses influenced only the number of stamens. The in vitro germination rate of T. majus pollen grains varied in the culture media. There was no association between the combinations of poultry litter doses and the in vitro germination rate of pollen grains.