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- Author or Editor: Stefano La Malfa x
Plant regeneration was obtained from adventitious buds induced in isolated cotyledons of Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea L.). The best results for bud induction were obtained by using half-strength LePoivre medium with 4.5 μM 6-benzyladenine for 30 days. Shoot elongation was achieved in the same medium without growth regulators but with the addition of 0.5% activated charcoal. The induction medium was the best also for shoot multiplication, but it was necessary to include subcultures on elongation medium. The slow elongation rate of adventitious shoots remains the greatest obstacle to multiplication. Root formation (15%) after 5 months was observed when shoots were cultured on elongation medium for long periods.
Seedlessness is an important trait in the evaluation of commercial mandarin for fresh consumption. However, in the last decade, the presence of seeds in fruit of cultivars considered as seedless has become a problem in different citrus-growing areas because the commercial value is depreciated. Seeds have appeared concomitantly with the introduction of new cultivars that appear to be cross-compatible. To overcome this problem, different strategies have been explored, but a definitive answer is still elusive. The search for alternatives contrasts with how little is known about the basis of the problem: the pollen-pistil incompatibility reaction in mandarin, and the intercompatibility relationship between different cultivars. In this work, we characterized the pollen-pistil incompatibility in the two commonly grown mandarin cultivars Fortune and Nova, and evaluated the intercompatibility relationship between six cultivars with different genetic origins; these cultivars included Fortune (Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan. × Citrus reticulata Blanco), Nova [(Citrus paradisi Macf. × C. reticulata) × C. clementina), Comune Clementine (C. clementina), Avana apireno (C. reticulata), Primosole (Citrus unshiu Marcov. × C. reticulata), and Simeto (C. unshiu × Citrus deliciosa Ten.). Following the controlled hand pollination in the field, we evaluated pollen tube performance after self- and cross-pollination, as well as intercultivar compatibility by observing pollen tube growth. The results show the self-incompatibility of these cultivars with the pollen tube having been arrested in the style, which explains their seedless condition when planted in solid blocks. The study of intercompatibility indicates a different pollen tube behavior depending on the genotype, as well as on the cross combinations. These results provide a basis to evaluate self- and intercompatibility in citrus, and the effect of close planting of some cultivars.