United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest

Research Station

Research Note

PNW-RN-527

July 2000

Effects of Water Suspension

and Wet-Dry Cycling on Fertility

of Douglas-Fir Pollen

Donald L. Copes and Nan C. Vance1

Studies were made to determine how long Douglas-fir pollen remains viable after

suspension in cool water from 0 to 34 days. Linear regression analysis of in vivo and in

vitro tests indicated that filled seed efficiency and pollen viability, respectively, decreased

about 3 percent per day. The relation may have been nonlinear the first 6 days, as little

decrease occurred during that time. An in vitro test of the effect of none, one, or two

drying cycles on previously wetted pollens revealed a great decrease in pollen viability

after just one drying cycle. The in vivo test of 1-, 2-, and 3-percent pollen suspensions

showed that the 3-percent suspension resulted in 15 percent greater filled seed

efficiency than the 2-percent and 57 percent greater than the 1-percent suspension.

Keywords: Supplemental mass pollination, seed orchard, flowering, reproduction, filled

seed efficiency, Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii.

Abstract

1 Donald L. Copes was a principle plant geneticist (retired) and

Nan C. Vance is a principle plant physiologist, Forestry Sciences

Laboratory, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331.
2

Tree improvement workers use supplemental mass pollination technology (SMP) in seed

orchards to increase filled seed efficiency (FSE), increase genetic gain, and decrease

loss of adaptation. To be effective, SMP must be done at an early stage of megastrobili

receptivity before unacceptable levels of background pollen arrive, and sufficient quantities

of SMP pollen must be applied to effectively block entry of the background pollen into the

micropyle areas. Current SMP technology differs greatly, and results have not been entirely

satisfactory. Unsolved reproductive biology problems, inadequate pollen-application equipment, and high labor costs combine to limit use of the technology. Pollen-application

equipment must be capable of rapidly and uniformly delivering precise amounts of

valuable pollen during a limited period. Effective management of conventional seed

orchards requires affordable and dependable equipment that can be used by several

workers to pollinate several hundred large trees in a few hours.

Webber (1995) reports that localized or point applications of pollen directed at individual

or clusters of megastrobili produce greater parentage control than do general crown

applications (mist treatments). The primary factors limiting use of point applications is

the excessive time required to completely pollinate large trees and the associated high

cost of the labor-intensive process. A worker using a hand-held wand may need 2 to

4 hours to completely pollinate all receptive flowers on one large tree; thus, it is not

possible to effectively use that technology when many large trees require rapid pollination.

In earlier testing of large-scale pollen application procedures and equipment, we noted

that pollen drift from wind often is a problem when dry pollen is applied with a tractormounted duster (Copes et al. 1995). Even low-velocity winds cause a significant portion

of SMP pollen to move away from the trees being pollinated. To reduce pollen drift in this

study, we tested liquid-pollination methods. The hypothesis was that pollen suspended

in water would be less prone to wind drift. Use of liquid pollination depends on the pollen

retaining viability or fertility after suspension in water. A small trial of pollen in water by

Allen and Sziklai (1962) indicated that viable Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.)

Franco) seeds could be produced, but the results were based on only 15 cones. They

state that Douglas-fir pollen remains viable in water for at least 24 hours, but they do not

present data supporting that observation. In Monterey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don), liquid

pollination was effective in producing filled seeds (Sweet et al. 1993).

An effective water pollination program for Douglas-fir orchards requires additional

knowledge of when and at what rate pollen viability decreases after water suspension for

various times. In this paper, we report the results of four studies examining in vivo ability

of Douglas-fir pollen to fertilize ovules after suspension in water for as little as 1 minute

to as long as 34 days. An in vitro test of one or two drying cycles on pollen viability also

is reported.

Four in vivo studies of liquid pollination were done between 1993 and 1997. The primary

objectives of each study were to determine if and when pollen fertility or viability changes

as time in water increases. When time in water treatments encompassed several days,

replications in time of each treatment were made at regular intervals before pollination to

ensure that the proper solutions were available for 3 to 5 days after megastrobili bud flush.

This corresponds to stages B+2 to B+4 stages of megastrobili receptivity (Webber 1987).

Introduction

Methods
3

All pollen was collected with the pollen vacuum described by Copes et al. (1991).

Collection was done from 1990 to 1992. The pollen was air dried to 4 to 7 percent

moisture content and stored at -135 °C in a cryogenic freezer. Each pollen source came

from multiple tree collections. Different pollen sources were applied each year. Stored

pollen was rehydrated overnight in a saturated atmosphere before suspension in distilled

water. All pollen tested at 90 percent (or more) viability after rehydration, based on in vitro

viability tests using the 20P10B viability solution of Webber and Bonnet-Masimbert

(1993). Pollen solutions were stored in a refrigerator at 1 to 3 °C until day of pollination

and were transported to the field in a cooler. The times in water before pollination were

strictly controlled. The 0- to 40-minute treatments in 1993 were accomplished by adding

hydrated pollen to the water after transport to the field. In 1997, the pollen solutions that

had been in water for 0 to 12 days were tested for in vitro viability by using the Webber

and Bonnet-Masimbert (1993) solution described above.

The megastrobili for evaluating liquid pollination were placed in isolation bags before the

reproductive buds opened. Different clones were used as female parents each year. All

male catkins were removed from the branch areas enclosed by the bags. Each isolation

bag was removed from the branch for 1 to 2 minutes for pollination when megastrobili

reached B + 2 to B + 4. The pollen solutions were applied as a fine spray with a

hand-held 1.7-liter Spray Doc sprayer.2

 Spraying was continued until liquid ran off the

megastrobili. Pollen was kept uniformly distributed in solution during pollination by

frequently shaking the sprayer during application. Each isolation bag was immediately

reapplied after pollination of each branch.

Conventional pollination with dry pollen (applied directly to each megastrobili from a

small, plastic squeeze or dropping bottle) was done in 1994 and 1997. A heavy dusting

of pollen was applied to individual megastrobili (about 0.25 cubic centimeter of pollen per

isolation bag). The FSE value from the dry pollination of each tree was used as an

indication of maximum FSE when pollen was not limited.

Mature cones from the tests were collected in August each year when the cones were

brown and fully mature but had not opened their cone scales. Seeds were extracted by

hand from each cone, and all the round seeds were X-rayed to identify filled seeds. The

FSE was calculated as a percentage of the number of filled seed divided by the number

of round seeds per cone. Flat seeds (nonviable) were not included in the seed efficiency

calculations because they were not viable at fertilization and not capable of accessing

pollen fertility.

For an in vitro test of the effects of wetting and drying cycles on pollen viability, five pollen

samples (P1 through P5), each from a different source taken from cryogenic storage,

were evaluated. The test consisted of three pollen treatments (control [pollen wetted],

cycle 1 [pollen wetted, suspended in water, dried, and rewetted], and cycle 2 [pollen

wetted, redried, rewetted, redried and rewetted]), four replications, and five pollen

sources. Before each rewetting, the viability of the pollen was tested. The five pollen

sources were not the same sources evaluated in the in vivo tests. Moisture content of

2

 The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader

information and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department

of Agriculture of any product or service.
4

samples from the five stored pollen lots ranged from 2.1 to 5.4 percent. About 100

microliters of each pollen sample was placed in a petri dish with approximately 500

microliters of distilled water. The pollen-in-water suspension was air dried for 24 hours

and then suspended again in water and dried an additional 24 hours. Aliquots of pollen

solution were removed by pipette from each sample immediately after each suspension.

Each aliquot was placed into fresh pollen germination solution (Brewbaker and Kwack

[1963] modified by Webber and Bonnet-Masimbert [1993]) and incubated for 48 hours on

a rotary shaker at low speed. The viable (elongated), damaged, and dead pollen grains

were tallied from five randomly selected areas in the microscopic view. The percentage of

viable grains (number of viable grains divided by the number of all pollen grains) was

calculated for each sample.

Data were analyzed by using GLM procedures (SAS 1989). The statistical model was,

FSE = μ + femalei

 + pollenj + b1 

* time + b2 * time2 + eijk .

Data from each year were analyzed separately. For the field tests, the FSE per cone was

the experimental unit. Each isolation bag was a replication of a female by male (or pollen

concentration in 1993) by time in water treatment. The time in water was the fixed effect

for the field tests and the 1997 in vitro viability test, and the number of drying cycles was

the fixed effect for the in vitro pollen viability test. No transformation of data was required.

Level of significance was = 0.05. Type III mean squares were used when appropriate.

Time in water was increased from 0 to 40 minutes in 1993 to a maximum of 34 days in

1995. In 1993, 1-, 2-, and 3-percent pollen concentrations in water were examined on five

female trees (table 1). The objective was to determine whether Douglas-fir pollen

remained highly fertile after suspension in water and to determine which concentration

Results

Control

pollination

Parents Time in Pollen Bags per with dry

Year Females Males water concentration treatment pollen

 - - - Number - - - Percent Number

1993 5 1 1, 5, 10, 1 - 3 2 No

 20, and

40 minutes

1994 1 2 0, 1, 2, 3 2 Yes

3, 4, 5,

and 6 hours

1995 3 3 0, 10, 18, 3 3 No

and 34 days

1997 1 1 0, 1, 3, 3 3 Yes

6, 10, and

16 days

Table 1—Experimental designs of four liquid pollination tests
5

produced the greatest FSE. The three concentrations of the single pollen source are

listed in table 2 as pollen sources A, B, and C. The 1-, 2-, and 3-percent concentrations

had mean FSE values of 35.7, 48.7, and 56.2 percent, respectively. The differences were

significant. Mean FSE for the five time periods between 1 and 40 minutes in water

ranged from 43 to 49 percent (table 2), but no significant decrease in pollen fertility

related to time in water was found. Differences in FSE among the three female parents

are not shown in table 2 but also were significant.

Table 2—Filled seed efficiency values from 4 pollination tests with pollen

suspended in water for various intervals from 1 minute to 34 days

a Pollen sources A, B, and C in 1993 were not 3 different sources but

were 1-, 2-, and 3-percent concentrations, respectively, of a single

pollen source.

Pollen sourcesa

Year Time in water A B C Mean

1993 1 minute 33.6 57.0 55.7 49.4

5 minutes 30.1 43.8 61.8 44.6

10 minutes 41.8 42.4 57.2 47.1

20 minutes 36.4 49.2 59.4 48.0

40 minutes 34.0 51.3 47.0 43.7

Mean 35.7 48.7 56.2 46.6

1994 0 hour 42.7 39.2 40.0

1 hour 32.2 55.5 47.8

2 hours 57.4 37.2 47.3

3 hours 32.7 55.8 44.3

4 hours 29.0 56.3 42.7

5 hours 36.0 39.8 37.9

6 hours 39.7 40.8 40.2

Mean 39.3 45.9 42.7

1995 0 day 43.9 42.6 49.7 44.6

10 days 35.8 24.6 13.4 24.0

18 days 31.5 34.9 9.1 25.5

34 days 1.1 4.4 0.6 2.0

Mean 29.7 25.9 16.2 23.9

1997 0 day 69.2 69.2

1 day 77.8 77.8

3 days 55.2 55.2

6 days 73.2 73.2

10 days 42.9 42.9

16 days 24.5 24.5

Mean 60.1 60.1

In 1994, maximum time in water was increased to 6 hours, and two pollen sources were

used on one female tree (table 1). In this test it was assumed that there was no femaleby-pollen interaction. The FSE values from the two pollen sources were not significantly

different, and no significant decrease in FSE was found after 6 hours of suspension in

water (table 2). The 76-percent FSE from dry pollination was significantly greater than

the 43- to 49-percent FSE from water pollination.
6

In 1995, three pollen sources were suspended in water for 0, 10, 18, and 34 days (table

1). All three pollen sources were applied to different bags on each female tree. The FSE

values for the 0-, 10-, 18-, and 34-day suspensions were 44.6, 24.0, 25.5, and 2.0,

respectively (table 2). The differences were significant. An average decrease occurred in

FSE of 46 percent from day 0 to day 10 and 43 percent from day 10 to day 18. The

negative trend is shown in figure 1. Surprisingly, male C, the poorest performer after 10,

18, and 34 days in water, had the greatest FSE when used immediately after suspension

(table 2). The 1995 contrasts, such as females, males, days in water for linear and

quadratic effects, and the males by days in water, were significant.

Pollination in 1997 evaluated pollen fertility after water suspension for up to 16 days. The

interval between 0 to 10 days also was sampled at days 1, 3, and 6. Results from only one

female tree are reported in table 1 because severe frost damage to megastrobili on two

other trees made their FSE data worthless. The relation between FSE and number of days

in water was negative (fig. 1). A decrease of 3 percent per day in pollen fertility occurred

each day the pollen was in water. A similar negative trend was shown in the in vitro pollen

viability test (fig. 1). In that test, the same pollen solutions used for field pollination were

subjected to the in vitro evaluation. In 1997, the FSE from liquid pollination after 0, 6, and

10 days in water were all greater than the 66 percent FSE from dry pollination.

Figure 1—Mean filled seed efficiency (in vivo) and pollen viability (in vitro)

percentages resulting after pollen was suspended in water for 0 to 34 days.
7

Figure 2—Effects of drying and wetting cycles on mean in vitro pollen viability. The

five pollen samples tested are labeled P1 through P5.

The in vitro test of none, one, or two cycles of rewetting and drying on pollen viability

shows that viability declined for the five pollen sources (P1 through P5) tested (fig. 2).

Mean pollen viability of the five sources after none, one, or two drying cycles was 82.7

(2.0 SE), 25.1 (1.2 SE), and 2.3 percent (0.5 SE), respectively. The first drying cycle

after the suspension in water reduced mean viability by more than 57.6 percent; the

second drying cycle reduced mean viability by about 80.4 percent.

In our tests, Douglas-fir pollen, following suspension in water, retained the ability to

fertilize and promote the formation of viable seed far longer than previously reported. No

decrease in fertility was detected in 1993 or 1994 after short-term submersion for < 6

hours. This finding confirmed the results of Allen and Sziklai (1962). The 1995 test of

longer submersion indicated that a moderate level of pollen fertility (24 and 25 percent

FSE) existed after 10 and 16 days in water, respectively, but pollen fertility was reduced

to just 2 percent after 34 days. No sampling was done between 1 and 10 days in 1995,

so it was not possible to determine when and at what rate the decrease occurred.

The 1997 test evaluated water suspensions for 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, and 16 days. Fertility

averaged 69 percent FSE through day 6 and then decreased to 43 and 24 percent FSE

after 10 days and 16 days, respectively. Linear regression analysis indicated a FSE

decline of about 3 percent per day, but it is possible that the relation was nonlinear

because little decrease occurred in the first 6 days. The mean for the 6-day treatment

was 73 percent FSE. The regression lines for 1995 and 1997 FSE differed somewhat,

possibly because of the large difference in FSE means for the two years. In both years,

long-term submersion significantly reduced pollen fertility. An earlier decline would have

occurred if the stored solutions had not been kept refrigerated at 1 to 3 °C.

Discussion and

Conclusions
8

The in vitro 1997 pollen viability evaluation revealed that a similar decline occurred with

time in water. In that test, pollen viability declined from a mean of 95 percent after 1 day

to 72 percent after 12 days. The rate of decline approximated the in vivo FSE regression

from the same pollen suspensions, although the in vitro values were larger.

Results indicated that water suspensions can be used for operational SMP in Douglas-fir

seed orchards. The longevity of Douglas-fir pollen in water suspension will allow orchard

workers to prepare pollen-and-water suspensions ahead of pollination and store the

suspensions until needed. A storage period of up to 6 days at 1 to 3 °C does not significantly decrease FSE below what can be obtained with suspensions prepared and

immediately sprayed on receptive megastrobili.

The in vitro pollen viability tests demonstrated that pollens cannot be dried a second time

and be used after being in water solution. Drying of pollen suspended in water resulted in

a great decrease in viability after just one drying cycle. The sensitivity to drying of pollen

in water suspension raises the question of how pollen retains viability in the Douglas-fir

region of the Pacific Northwest, where frequent rains occur throughout the pollination

season. One possible answer may be that the pollen grains in the narrow area near the

mouth of the micropyle remain dry even in wet weather because the width of the opening

is less than the diameter of the drops of rain. If this is so, those pollen grains would

remain dry and viable, whereas pollen grain resting on the more exposed areas would be

subject to wet and dry cycles and experience reduced viability. Caution should be

expressed in extrapolating results of in vitro tests as pollen was suspended in water for

24 hours at room temperature, which could cause physiological changes to occur. This

probably is not the scenario in field conditions.

The comparison of FSE results from 1-, 2-, and 3-percent pollen suspensions yielded

results showing that the 3-percent suspension gave a 15 percent greater FSE than the 2-

percent suspension and 57 percent greater than the FSE from a 1-percent suspension.

An unanswered question is whether an operational program would be more effective with

several spray dates with a 2-percent suspension versus fewer sprays with a 3-percent

suspension. The total amount of pollen used would be similar, but the FSE results might

be different. Copes et al. (1995) with Douglas-fir and Sweet et al. (1992) with Monterey

pine both report successive pollination gave better FSE results than a single pollination.

Sweet et al. (1992) found the optimum pollen concentration to be 2.5 to 3.0 percent.

The comparison of FSE from dry pollination with the FSE from liquid pollination did not

yield clear results owing to the weakness of that comparison—too few megastrobili

sampled from dry pollination. For example, in 1994 the FSE from dry pollination was

greater than the FSE from liquid pollination, but in 1997 the FSEs from the 0, 1, and 6

days of liquid pollination were greater than FSE from the dry pollination.

Completing the pollination studies in four different years was difficult because two or

more periods of freezing weather occurred during each pollination season. Freezing

weather reduced the number of round seeds per cone, the number of cones of each

treatment that survived to maturity, the replication (isolation bags) of some treatments,

and the FSE values of cones surviving to maturity. In 1997, two of three trees used as

females had to be deleted from the study because of the excessive freeze damage to

their megastrobili.
9

Liquid pollination may be used for operational SMP programs in Douglas-fir seed

orchards. Pollen suspended in cold water retains high fertility even after 6 days. The

FSE results from dry and liquid pollination were comparable. The long storage life of

suspended pollen will reduce pollen waste, because solutions not completely used each

day can be refrigerated and applied at a later date. The negative impact of attempting to

rewet pollen that has been suspended in water and redried clearly indicates that the

practice is not a management option.

Allen, G.S.; Sziklai, O. 1962. Pollination of Douglas-fir with water suspensions of

pollen. Forest Science. 8: 64-65.

Brewbaker, J.G.; Kwack, B.H. 1963. The essential role of calcium ion in pollen

germination and pollen tube growth. American Journal Botany. 50: 859-865.

Copes, D.L.; O’Rourke, D.; Randall, W.K. 1995. Field testing a modified duster for

supplemental mass pollination in Douglas-fir seed orchards. Tree Planters’ Notes.

46: 118-125.

Copes, D.L.; Vance, N.C.; Randall, W.K.; Jasumback, A. [and others]. 1991.

Vacuum collection of Douglas-fir pollen for supplemental mass pollinations. Res. Note

PNW-RN-503. Portland, OR: U.S. Department Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific

Northwest Research Station. 8 p.

SAS. 1993. SAS/STAT user’s guide, version 6, 4th ed. Cary, NC: Statistical Analysis

Systems Institute, Inc.

Sweet, G.B.; Dickson, R.L.; Donaldson, B.D.; Litchwark, H. 1992. Controlled

pollination without isolation—a new approach to the management of radiata pine

seed orchards. Silvae Genetica. 41: 95-99.

Sweet, G.B.; Dickson, Y.G.; Setiawati, Z.S. 1993. Liquid pollination in Pinus. For.

Genet. Resour. Inf. 21. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations: 2-5.

Webber, W.E. 1987. Increasing seed yield and genetic efficiency in Douglas-fir seed

orchards through pollen management. Forest Ecology Management. 19: 209-218.

Webber, W.E. 1995. Pollen management for intensive seed orchard production. Tree

Physiology. 15: 507-514.

Webber, W.E.; Bonnet-Masimbert, M. 1993. The response of dehydrated Douglas-fir

(Pseudotsuga menziesii) pollen to three in vitro viability assays and their relationship

to actual fertility. Annals Scientific Forestry. 50: 1-22.

Future Application

Literature Cited
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