Viability of sugarcane and Erianthus arundinaceus pollen under marcotting treatment

Abstract Most of the sugarcane cultivated today is the hybrid between Saccharum offinarum and its relative, S. spontaneum. The breeding relies mainly on the crossing of male and female parents, which needs the excellent viability of the pollen from the male parent. Marcotting or air layer is a technique to facilitate parents to be crossed outside of the sugarcane fields. The technique allows sugarcane roots to grow from stalk internodes wrapped with soil to maintain the viability of the male and female gametes during the crossing. We investigated the effect of marcotted stalks on pollen viability. The cultivars observed in the study were PS-862, PS-865, 88-1762, and 89-2143, along with the Saccharum’s wild relative, Erianthus arundinaceus. Pollens from marcotted and control stalks were taken and stained with Lugol’s or IKI solution daily to confirm their viability and diameter measurement. Additional parameters observed were root weight, male and female organ morphometry. The results showed that pollen viability was not affected by marcotting or air layering treatment. In addition, the treatment could maintain flower anthesis in panicles or arrows within more than two weeks. The pollen sizes varied among cultivar and genus, while the viable pollen tended to be bigger than the non-viable ones.