Pollen germination and tube growth in rye (Secade cereale L.) homozygous and heterozygous for reciprocal translocations

Summary To contribute to the knowledge of the role of reciprocal translocations in rye, a component of fertility was estimated by comparing germination and pollen tube growth in homozygous and heterozygous plants for reciprocal translocations. The results obtained indicate that there are no differences in germination and pollen tube growth rate when homozygous and heterozygous plants as a whole are compared. However, there are significant differences in pollen tube growth between plants carrying different translocations. This suggests that the chromosome constitution of a plant is relevant to these fitness-estimating parameters together with its particular genetic background.