STUDIES ON SEXUAL COMPATIBILITY AND OR INCOMPATIBILITY IN LANGRA MANGO CULTIVAR

Abstract

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is considered one of the oldest cultivated trees in the world. Low productivity of some mango cultivars is associate with low fruit setting and/or high fruit drop of immature fruits. The self and cross incompatibility has been reported as one of the serious factor affecting fruit set in many mango cultivars. In this respect, five mango cultivars (Alphonse, Ewais, Hindi khassa, Keitt, and Zebda) were used as a pollinizer for Langra cultivar (as a female parent) to exanimate their cross compatibility / or incompatibility with it and its self-pollination effect. The results of the present study indicated that, microscopic examination for Langra cultivar after self-pollination revealed many deposits of callus plugs were appeared at a long of the pollen tubes after self-pollination which indicated incompatibility pollen tubes. The number of pollen tubes of Keitt and Zebda c.vs. in Langra styles were higher than other combinations and they started to reach the base of the style in 4 days after pollination, this is an indication of high cross compatible between each two cultivars and Langra c.v., while, Alphonse, Ewais and Hindi khassa reached delayed to the base of the style and they gave the lowest percentage of pistils with pollen tubes reaching the base of the style 7 days after cross pollination with Langra styles. Cross pollination with Zebda pollens gave the higher initial number of fruits per panicle (55.93 and 73.25) compared to the other cultivars. Fruit drop % increased dramatically and it's reaching maximum at 45 days after self-pollination only and when crossed by Alphonse pollens.