POLLEN-HANDLING PROTOCOL AND HYDRATION DEHYDRATION CHARACTERISTICS OFPOLLEN FOR APPLICATION TO LONG-TERM STORAGE

The National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado, is inv estigating pollen storage as a practical means for storing germplasm o f clonally-held species. Careful regulation of pollen moisture content is necessary to safely store pollens and perform accurate in vitro ge rmination tests. A series of dehydration and hydration curves were gen erated for Pinus ponderosa Dough. ex P. Laws., Picea pungens Engelm., and Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch pollens using five saturated salt solutions and water. Equilibrium moisture contents (EMCs) were al so determined for Typha latifolia L., Phoenix dactylifera L., Corylus avellana L., and Zea mays L. Although rates of dehydration and hydrati on, and EMC varied with salt, pollen, and temperature, the pollens tes ted did survive the drying procedures and could successfully be stored in liquid nitrogen.