The Effects of Heavy Metals on the Pollen Germination and Pollen Tube Growth of Apples (Malus sylvestris Miller cv. Golden)

Authors: ÖMER MUNZUROĞLU, NAZMİ GÜR

Abstract: The effect of heavy metals, namely mercury (Hg^{+2}), zinc (Zn^{+2}), nickel (Ni^{+2}) and cobalt (Co^{+2}), which were applied in the form of chloride salt, and that of lead (Pb^{+2}) and cadmium (Cd^{+2}) applied in the form of nitrate salt, on the pollen germination and tube growth were investigated on apples ( Malus sylvestris cv. Golden). According to the results obtained, these heavy metals led to a significant decrease in the pollen germination and tube growth. It was found that there was a parallelism between the concentration of heavy metal salt, and pollen germination and tube growth. Among the heavy metals applied in the form of chloride salt, mercury (Hg^{+2}) showed the highest toxic effect, followed by zinc (Zn^{+2}), nickel (Ni^{+2}) and cobalt (Co^{+2}) respectively. It was observed that among the heavy metals applied in the form of nitrate salt lead (Pb^{+2}) in higher concentrations was more effective than cadmium (Cd^{+2}). It was concluded that heavy metals affect pollen germination and tube growth at different rates.

Keywords: Heavy Metal, Malus sylvestris cv. Golden, pollen germination, pollen tube growth.

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