Xenia and Metaxenia in Persian Walnut (Juglans regia L.)

Subject Areas : Microbiology

M.  Golzari ¹ (Department of Horticulture, Abouraihan Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)
D.  Hassani ² (Temperate Fruits Research Center, Horticultural Science Research Institute, Agriculture Research Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran)
M.  Rahemi ³ (Department of Horticulture, Abouraihan Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)
K.  Vahdati ⁴ (Department of Horticulture, Abouraihan Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)

Received: 2016-12-28 Accepted : 2016-12-28 Published : 2016-12-01

Keywords: pollen, Pollination, Catkin, Pistillate flower,

Abstract :

In 2007 and 2008, the influence of pollen source on the shell and kernel traits of resulting seeds and on fruit set was examined to evaluate the potential for Xenia or Metaxenia in Persian walnut. Pistillate flowers of ‘Jamal’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Hartley’ and ‘Pedro’ were crossed with the pollen of ‘Serr’, ‘Z60’ and ‘Damavand’. The pistillate flowers on each female parent were covered about one week before starting the reception period of the flowers, and the bags remained 7-10 days after pollination. The catkins of the male parents were collected just prior to pollen shedding, and they were kept in room temperature for 24- 48 hours. Collected pollen was refrigerated until use. Pollination was done when the stigmas were expanded and were pinkish in color. Data recording were started after removing the bags and measuring the percent of fruit set and recording the fruit growth and time of ripening. The fruits, nut and kernel weight, length, diameter, length to diameter, shell thickness, shell weight and kernel percentage were evaluated after harvest. The result showed that nut and kernel diameter, kernel weight, length to diameter, shell-thickness and shell weight were affected by pollen source. There were also significant differences in the fruit set of the different pollen parents. Pollens of ‘Damavand’ and ‘Z60’ significantly decreased the nut diameter and weight in some female parents. Total fat and protein content of kernels were significantly affected by the type of pollen parent.

References:

Atefi J (1990) Evaluation of walnut genotypes in Iran. Acta Horticulturae. 311, 24-27.

Bahmani A, Gregorian A, Valizadeh M, Vezvaei A (2002) Effect of pollen type and nature on fruit size and certain tasting characteristics of almond kernel (Prunus amygdalus Btsch). Iranian Journalof Agricultural Sciences. 33, 296-298. [In Persian].  

Beede RH (1985) California history. In: Ramos, D.E. (Ed.) Walnut Orchard Management Pub. 2140. Univ. of California. 3-4.

Crane JC, Iwakiri BT (1980) Xenia and metaxenia in pistachio. Horticultural Science. 15, 184-185.

East EM, Jones DF (1920) Genetic studies on the protein content of maize. Genetics. 5, 543-610.

Forde H, McGranahan GH (1996) Walnuts. In: Janick, J., Moore, N. (Eds.) Fruit Breeding, Volume 3. Nuts. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, USA. 241–274.

Forde HI, Grigg WH (1972) Pollination and blooming habits of walnuts. AgriculturalExperiment Station. University of California Ext- N24.

Germain E (1997) Genetic improvement of the Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.). Acta Horticulturae. 442, 21-31.

Horwitz W (2000) Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC. 17th Edition. AOAC International, MD, USA. 49, 1-28.

Ito PJ, Hamilton RA (1980) Quality and yield of ‘Keauhou’ macademia nuts from mixed and pure block plantings. Horticultural Science. 15, 307-310.

Javadi D, Gheshlaghi AE (2006) Effect of different pollen sources on nut and kernel characteristics of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.). IranianJournal of Horticultural Science and Technology. 7, 15-22.

Kodad O, Socias R (2008) Fruit quality in almond as related to the type of pollination in self-compatible genotypes. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science.133, 320-326.

Kumar K., Das B (1996) Studies on xenia in almond (Prunus dulcis (Miller) D.A. Webb). Journal of Horticultural Science. 71, 545–549.

Luza GJ, Polito VS (1985) In vitro germination and storage of English walnut pollen. Scientia Horticulturae. 27, 303-316. 

Marquard RD (1988) Outcrossing rates in pecan and the potential for increased yields. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 113, 84-88.

McGranahan GH, Voyiatzis DG, Catlin PB, Polito VS (1994) High pollen load can cause pistillate flower abscission in walnut. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science.119, 505-509.

Mehlenbacher SA, Smith DC, Brenner L (1993) Variance component and heritability of nut and kernel defect in hazelnut. Plant Breeding. 110, 144-152.

Osman AM, Reuther AW, Erickson LC (1974) Xenia and metaxenia studies in the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Date Growers Institute Report. 51, 6-17.

 

Polito VS (1998) Floral biology: flower structure development and pollination. In: Ramos, D.E. (Ed.), Walnut Production Manual. University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Publication 3373, California. pp. 127-138.

Pontikis KA (1977) Contribution to studies on the effect of pollen of different species and cultivars of the genuse Pistachio on nut development and quality. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 47, 10270p.

Por A, Por J (1990) The effect of the excess of pollen on the fruitset of walnuts in Balatonboglar. Acta Horticulturae. 284, 235-256.

Rahemi M, Jafari M, 2008. Effect of caprifig type on quantity of Estahban deride fig (Ficus carica L. cv. Sabz.). Acta Horticulturae. 798, 249-252.

Rahemi M, Javadi D (2001) Effect of pollen source

 on nut and kernel characteristics of hazelnut. Acta Horticulturae. 556, 371-376.

Riazi G, Rahemi M, Khanizadeh S (1996) Effect of selected pistachio pollen on development and quality of pistachio nuts of three commercially grown cultivars. Journal of Plant Nutrition. 199, 635-641.

Vahdati K (2000) Walnut situation in Iran. Nucis-Newsletter. 9, 32-33.

Vargas FJ, Clave J., Romero, M.A (2005) Fruit size in self- and open-pollination conditions in self-compatible almond seedling. Proceedings of IV Intl. Symp. Pistachio & Almonds, Tehran, Iran. 22-25 May 2005, 61-62.

Vezvaei A, Jackson JA, 1995. Effect of pollen parent and stages of flower development on almond nut production. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture. 35, 109-113.