Overcoming Self‐Incompatibility of Brassica napus by Salt (NaC1) Spray

AbstractThe results of studies from 1982 to 1989 confirm that self‐incompatibility (SI) of B. napus can be effectively overcome by spraying solutions of 2 — 10 % table salt (NaCl) during the flowering period. The optimum salt concentration was found to be 5 %. Spraying onto both stigma and stamen is better than onto only one of them, in particular better than spraying only onto the stamen. When self‐pollination occurred at intervals of 1 to 32 hours after spraying 5 % NaCl solution upon stigma and stamen, the compatibility indexes fall slightly; they decrease considerably after 72 and 120 hours, but still then they stay higher than without spraying. After spraying 5 % NaCl solution at intervals of 4, 5, 8 and 24 hours, respectively, the compatibility indexes after self‐pollination are almost equal to that of bud‐pollination; this treatment is effective even at intervals of 48 or 72 hours after selfing. In practice, spraying 5 % NaCl solution every 3 to 5 days during the flowering period is enough for satisfying seed set of SI lines under field conditions.