Investigation of pollen germination abilities of tea variety candidates obtained as a result of selection breeding

Tea plantations in our country were initially established with hybrid seeds of Chinese and Assam tea varieties, and the establishment of subsequent plantations and the renewal of existing ones continued with seeds. Seed propagation has led to genetic differences in the tea plant due to alien pollination and adaptation to environmental conditions. As a result, new types that differ in terms of phenotypic, yield, quality and similar characteristics have emerged even in the same tea garden in our country. Since tea of the desired quality could not be obtained from these tea gardens, the need of renew the tea gardens has emerged. Improved varieties are required to renew tea gardens. It is known that the pollen performance of the parents is very important in hybridization breeding and is the most important factor affecting success in cross-pollination. In this study, 10 different tea genotypes (53 KA 12, 53 KA 10, 61 AK 29, 61 SÜ 31, 61 HA 52, 61 OF 50, 08 BO 18, 53 ÇE 184, 53 ÇE 204, 53 PA 104), determined to be superior in terms of biochemical properties, and obtained by selection from the Eastern Black Sea Tea Production Region within the scope of the TÜBİTAK 1007 project carried out together with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University and ÇAYKUR Atatürk Tea and Horticultural Research Institute, were used. By collecting flower buds from these genotypes between September and December 2023, pollen viability, germination, production quantity and morphologicial properties were examined and determined.Pollen viability levels were detected by TTC (2-3-5-Triphenyl Tetrazolium Chloride), agar in petri method were used for pollen germination, and pollen quantity was counted by the Hemocytometric method. Significant differences have been found out between tea genotypes in terms of flower morphology, flower powder viability, germination rate and flower powder amount. Among the tea genotypes the viable pollen ratios were ranged from 26% to 91%, semi-viable from 7% to 56%, non-viable pollen from 2% to 41%, While the germination rate varied between 26% and 83% at 12% sucrose concentration. The lowest and highest number of pollen quantity in an anther were found to be as 1451 and 6722, respectively.