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Do pollen donors with fastest-growing pollen tubes sire the best offspring in an anemophilous tree, Betula pendula (Betulaceae)?¹

²Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki Research Station, Juntintie 40, FIN-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland; ³Finnish Forest Research Institute, Haapastensyrjä Breeding Centre, Karkkilantie 247, FIN-12600 Läyliäinen, Finland; and ⁴Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40531 Jyväskylä, Finland

ABSTRACT

The relationship between pollen and progeny performance has been a subject of many studies but the evidence for pollen-tube growth rate as an indicator of progeny fitness is equivocal. We used an anemophilous tree, Betula pendula, to examine the relationship between pollen-tube growth rate and seed and seedling performance. We crossed nine maternal plants with pollen from six pollen donors in a clonal B. pendula seed orchard, measured the pollen-tube growth rates for every cross, and analyzed the performance of the resulting seeds and seedlings. The only significant positive correlation was found between pollen-tube growth rate and seed mass when we controlled for seed number per inflorescence. Using seed mass as a covariate, we found that only maternal parent had a significant effect on the number of seeds per inflorescence, the percentage of germinable and embryonic seeds, and early seedling growth. Both maternal and paternal parents had significant effects on seedling height after 85 d of growth. These results are in concordance with the general view that maternal effects are usually most apparent in seed characters and during early plant growth. This study does not provide strong evidence for the theory of pollen-tube growth rate as an indicator of progeny quality.

Key Words: Betulaceae • Betula pendula • maternal effects • paternal effects • pollen-tube growth rate • progeny performance • seed abortion

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