Articles
STUDY ON FLOWERING DYNAMIC AND FERTILIZATION PROPERTIES OF CARAWAY AND FENNEL
Eight characteristic stages of flowering were distinguished and the results of free and artificial pollination trials were analysed.
The flowering process of both species lasted about 25–30 days for each umbel, where the later opening (higher range) umbels developed more slowly.
In individuals of caraway, flowering dynamic of different range umbels, assured a perfect possibility for fertilization of the lower range umbels by the upper range ones, because the main periods of flowering were in time overlapping.
In consequence of the shown proterandry, pollination within the umbel may occur only in exceptional cases (6–7%). Seed setting increases (up to 19%) using pollens of other umbels of the same individual, but the advantage of foreign pollen, either coming from the neighbouring plants, or different genotype is properly assured (44–46% seed setting).
In fennel, flowering phases of the umbellules within the same umbel are not simultaneous.
Thus, in contrary to caraway, flowering process of fennel assures fertilization among the flowers of each single umbel.
This was in harmony with the results of pollination trials, where seed setting by isolation of a single umbel reached 56%. Pollination treatments by pollens taken from neighbouring umbels or neighbouring plants, even from the individual of other genotype resulted in practically equal seed setting proportions (27–55%).
The results demonstrated, that both inbreeding and hybridization (with castration) may be successful tools in genetical improvement of the two species.