Comparative Analysis of Pollen Viability and Germination Efficiency among Guava Genotypes

Abstract

A study was conducted at the Fruit Science Laboratory, College of Horticulture, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, during the years 2023-24 and 2024-25 to assess pollen viability and in vitro germination in five guava genotypes. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) comprising five treatments with three replications each. Pollen viability an essential parameter in plant breeding for evaluating the functional capacity of male gametes was examined using both the 2% acetocarmine staining technique and in vitro pollen germination methods. The results showed that among the tested guava genotypes, L-49 recorded the highest pollen viability (96.23%), followed by Allahabad Safeda (94.86%) and Lalit (92.99%). In contrast, the highest pollen germination was observed in Lalit (92.23%), followed by Allahabad Safeda (91.59%) and L-49 (87.99%) in the pooled analysis. Based on the findings, L-49 was the best genotype in terms of pollen viability, while Lalit showed the highest germination rate, indicating its superior reproductive potential under in vitro conditions.