Pollen Analysis of Beets
The Importance of Beets Pollen Analysis
The knowledge of the reproductive properties of beet crops (Beta vulgaris) has a big impact on the success of breeding and seed production. One important factor for reproduction is the quality of pollen as it transfers genetic information and ensures high seed set. A beets pollen analysis is crucial for understanding these properties. Amphasys’ technology enables fast, easy, and accurate measurements of pollen quality to:
- Select those lines with high pollen viability and low number of aberrant cells
- Select those lines with high amount of viable pollen cells
- Know the impact of abiotic stress for crop placement
Ensuring high pollen viability and a substantial pollen quantity is crucial for achieving a robust seed set, making it an indispensable factor in cost-effective seed production. Identifying and understanding effective pollinator lines early in the breeding process not only streamlines breeding efforts, but also results in time and resource savings in subsequent production research and seed production.
Because it is a biennial crop, beet breeding and seed production are lengthy processes and efficiency gains have a significant impact on the outcome. Knowing the characteristics of beet lines in terms of propagation can help to save a lot of effort and resources and to improve yield.
Our specific “Beet Chip” facilitates automated data analysis of pollen viability and quantity. The “Beet Chip” includes all crops of the species Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris with sugar beet, red beet, fodder beet, and chard as the most important species. It delivers instantaneous results, offering a time and resource-efficient solution for routine quality control and systematic pollen screening.
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Amphasys provides support and consultancy for the optimization of your pollen analyses for breeding and production processes. Whether it be the measurement of individual pollen samples or a large pollen screening project at your greenhouses or fields: ask for a non-binding offer.
Characterization of beet pollen quality in breeding
Improvement of Beet Seed Production
Characterization of Pollen Quality in Beet Breeding
Viable pollen in a sufficient amount is a basic requirement for successful plant reproduction. Beet lines show variation in viability and quantity among the different varieties. Amphasys’ technology offers a fast, reliable, and cost-efficient solution to quantify these differences and to help selecting the best lines for appropriate conditions.
Identification of the best pollinator lines: Systematic line screening
Since breeding is about reproduction, the quality of pollen plays a crucial role. The screening of different beet lines revealed significant variation in terms of pollen quality. Good pollinator lines reach viability values between 60% and above 80%. Accordingly, the percentage of aberrant cells (aborted pollen cells during maturation) is low, typically below 10%. Single lines show lower viability and higher percentage of aberrant cells (e.g., line number 4 in figure 1). These lines will create issues in breeding and seed production.
These results confirm the importance of proper line selection during beet breeding using pollen quality analysis to prevent delays in breeding processes and subsequent longer time-to-market.
Identification of abiotic stress
The existence of aberrant cells can be an indication of abiotic stress. Aberrant cells are pollen cells which were aborted during maturation. Especially aberrant cells in higher concentration give notice on the impact of abiotic stress prior to flowering.
The analyzed beet samples show in general a low fraction of aberrant cells; only line 4 in figure 1 above shows an elevated level. This line could be sensitive to abiotic stress with consequences for crop placement.
Improvement of Beet Seed Production
Knowing the factors influencing crop placement, determining the optimum female to male ratio, having the right pollen storage protocol in place – these are important success factors for hybrid seed production. For successful breeding and seed production next to pollen viability the quantity of pollen is relevant. The same lines as in figure 1 were examined for pollen quantity. In contrast to viability, pollen quantity shows more variation.
Although lines number 2 and 6 show similar values for pollen viability, pollen amount differs significantly. For seed production, the consequences are a higher male to female ratio for line number 2, whereas pollen of line number 6 could be collected and stored.
Analyzing pollen quality (viability and quantity) as early as possible is an essential prerequisite. In order to avoid issues in breeding and seed production, pollen quality is a mandatory parameter in all steps.
Pollen quality information for efficient crop placement
Viability, number of aberrant pollen cells, and quantity of pollen formed can be indicators for line sensitivity to abiotic stress. Different lines may behave differently under certain conditions. The comparison of these parameters of the same lines under different environmental conditions can disclose the eligibility of certain lines for certain conditions. Placing the right lines in the right conditions ensures a high seed set and profit.
Sampling and sample preparation
For the determination of pollen viability and pollen quantity, the beet flowers should have open but not overly open petals and no brownish anthers. Pollen should be visible at the anthers. Shedding pollen from a branch is not recommended for viability determination as mainly older, dead pollen will be collected. Instead, 1 to 3 flowers should be collected in the late morning and pollen extracted using the “dry rack method”.
Flowers are collected in a tube and pollen is shaken out of the anthers by moving the tube over a rack before adding the AmphaFluid. Sample preparation instructions are provided on the Ampha P20 instrument using the “Beet Chip”.
Before measuring, pollen should be equilibrated for 2 minutes in the buffer. Pollen is stable in the buffer for minimum 30 minutes to one hour without loss of viability. If stored beet pollen is used, a prior rehydration step is recommended to obtain the best results.
Amphasys Pollen Analyzers
Amphasys Pollen Analyzers provide pollen quality metrics which enable you to improve your plant breeding and seed production processes:
The Ampha Z40 is a high-end laboratory device. It offers full flexibility for all pollen quality related research tasks and predefined templates for routine quality control.
The Ampha P20 is a mobile high-tech instrument for greenhouses and fields. With its easy handling and automated data analysis you get immediate results on site.