Abstract:

The pollen morphology and ultrastructure of selected Turkish indigenous grape cultivars and newly released hybrid varieties were examined by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The pollen differed in some microstructural parameters. The size of the pollen grains ranged from 19.0 x 22.4 µm in Beyaz Çavuş to 24.3 x 21.0 µm in Siyah Gemre. Hönüsü cultivar showed significant variations in the sizes of the polar and equatorial axes. The greatest colpus size was measured in Siyah Gemre (18.4 µm) and the longest pore size was observed in Ata sarısı (28 µm). The exine thickness of the pollen grains ranged from 0.5 to 1.8 µm in the equatorial axis from and 0.6 to 1.4 µm in the polar axis. Subprolate and prolate-spheroidal shapes were determined in the tricolporate pollen grains and suboblatial and spheroidal shapes in the inaperturate pollen grains. A reticulate ornamentation in the apocolpium regions was a distinctive characteristic in the cultivars examined.

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