Preservation of Maize Pollen

Abstract

One special area of pollen biological research is the examination of pollen viability and factors influencing its maintenance. The artificial preservation of the viability of pollen grains over a long period is important from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. Potentials of this research area are systematically described by Bajaj (1987; Fig. 1). Important resources of the plant kingdom could be preserved in an unchanged state by means of deep-freeze storage in “pollen banks”. Pollen banks are economical, space-saving, and can provide an international germ-plasm exchange.