Table 2.
Effects of long-term pollen storage upon viability and seed quantity and germination in Dactylorhiza fuchsii
| Parameter | Fresh pollen | Stored pollen | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pollen germination (%)* | 80·4 ± 2·80 | 64·0 ± 3·39 | <0·001 |
| Total seed weight per capsule (mg) | 3·50 ± 0·56 | 1·62 ± 0·27 | 0·008 |
| Mean seed weight (μg) | 1·9 ± 0·15 | 1·67 ± 0·18 | 0·266 |
| Number of seeds per capsule | 1943 ± 399 | 997 ± 143 | 0·040 |
| Full seeds (%)† | 89·09 ± 2·00 | 81·30 ± 2·35 | 0·005 |
| Germination on Knudson C medium (%)† | 45·10 ± 4·58 | 40·05 ± 4·84 | 0·665 |
| Germination on Norstog medium (%)† | 71·71 ± 4·00‡ | 65·68 ± 4·42 | 0·548 |
Values are shown ± standard error (s.e.).
*Binominal analysis of fresh and stored pollen.
†Data were arcsine-transformed before analysis; non-transformed means are shown.
‡In vitro germination tests on seeds from one capsule were lost due to contamination (i.e. n = 8).