Abstract:

The pollen vitality of Miscanthus sinensis was determined by in vitro pollen germination method, I2-KI staining method and FDA staining method, respectively. The results showed that with the in vitro pollen germination method, the pollens germinated in 5 minutes and reached an average length of 145.77 μm in 30 minutes. The average initial pollen germinating rate was 82.6 %, but it was decreased sharply to 3.0 % when the pollens were stored for 90 minutes at room temperature. The initial staining rate by FDA method and I2-KI method was 84.6 % and 86.6 % respectively, close to that of in vitro pollen germination method. However, the FDA staining or I2-KI staining method could not accurately distinguish the inactive pollens from the pollens having been stored for a longer time, as suggested that these two staining methods were not suitable for studying the change of pollen viability.