Flowering and pollen characteristics in different pomegranate cultivars growing under mid-hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh

Pollen viability and in vitro germination of nine different pomegranate cultivars viz Ganesh, G-137, Dholka, Nabha, Jodhpur Red, Mridula, Kandhari Hansi, China Seedling and Bush Large were assessed by using 3 different staining solutions viz acetocarmine (2%), tetrazolium (1%) and erythrosine B (0.1%). The pollen viability in acetocarmine ranged from 90.79 (Mridula) to 97.86 (G-137) per cent whereas in tetrazolium and erythrosine B pollen viability was 88.94 (Mridula), 97.13 (Bush Large), 80.76 (China Seedling), 78.92 (Kandhari Hansi) and 94.65 (Kandhari Hansi) per cent. Maximum pollen germination of 52.32 per cent (Jodhpur Red) was obtained in 10 per cent sucrose solution at 72 hours and minimum in 20 per cent sucrose solution having no germination at 24, 48 and 72 hours in some cultivars.