The objective of the present work was to determine a suitable medium and conditions for in vitro germination of Rio-Grande-Cherry (Eugenia involucrata DC) pollen. Possibility of storage in freezer (-16,5°C) was also studied. The pollen was collected from flowers at balloon stage and right after anthesis. The tested media were: the standard (10% sucrose, plus 1% agar dissolved in distilled water), and the addition of two H3Bo3 (0.65mM and 1.3mM) to this medium. Temperatures of incubation of 25 and 30ºC were tested. Independent of the treatment the incubation period was three hours. Incubation at 25°C in the standard medium provided good germination (61.4%). Boron did not influence the pollen germination. Pollen collected from flowers right after anthesis showed high germination percentage. The Rio-Grande-Cherry pollen conserved the viability (60.0%) after 90 days of storage at -16,5°C. However, after 220 and 280 days it was reduced to 40.6% and 24.2% and, after 530 days, there was total loss of viability.
Myrtaceae; pollen viability; storage; boron
