Experiments using the onion cultivar Petrolin, were conducted at the EMBRAPA Plant Breeding Laboratory, Pelotas, RS, with the objective of evaluating "in vitro" the potencial of onion pollen stored up to two years and stored under different conditions for two years. Pollen germination was determined after one and two years of storage in chriotubes conditioned in liquid N (-196ºC) and in glasses in a desiccator with sulfuric acid kept in a freezer (-18º C). The pollen stored for one year in liquid N was transferred to a refrigerator and the germination percentage was evaluated at 10, 15, 20 and 30 days. Storage in liquid nitrogen was the best method for conserving pollen for two years. Samples stored for one year in liquid nitrogen and then transferred to a refrigerator kept viability for ten days.
liquid nitrogen; refrigerator; in vitro germination
