For several plant species, brood size results from the abortion of ovules and seeds. However, these processes have rarely been studied together in wild plants. In some of the leguminous species studied, seed abortion has been found to depend on pollen quality and on the position of the ovule or fruit. The direct consequence for the mother plant is that fruit costs increase as the seed:ovule rat...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The genus Gesneria diversified in the Greater Antilles giving rise to various floral designs corresponding to different pollination syndromes. The goal of this study was to characterize the pollination and breeding systems of five Puerto Rican Gesneria species. METHODS The study was conducted in Arecibo and El Yunke National Forest, Puerto Rico, between 2003 and 2007. Flor...

Various aspects of the reproductive success of Garcinia atroviridis Griff. were studied. Controlled pollination experiments were carried out in an orchard located in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, from February to July 2003. Floral longevity, stigma receptivity, and pollen viability were examined before carrying out the experiments. Three pollination treatments were compared: open pollin...

Small-scale soil disturbances such as soil mounds produced by gophers are known to influence local plant communities. A variety of mechanisms might account for the influence of gopher disturbances on individual plant success, but understanding of these mechanisms is not well developed. Disturbances are often assumed to affect plants through changing competition or the abiotic environment, but d...

In order to prevent self-pollination in some plants like corn, tomato and cabbage, emasculation of the female line by hand is required, raising costs and labor expenses of seed production. The utilization of naturally occurring cytoplasmatic male-sterility (cms) is a more efficient approach. Mostly correlated with changes in the mitochodrial or chloroplast DNA, in some lines of distinct species...

In plants, apomixis results in the production of clonal offspring via seed and can provide reproductive assurance for isolated individuals. However, many apomicts require pollination to develop functional endosperm for successful seed set (pseudogamy) and therefore risk pollination-limitation, particularly in self-incompatible species that require heterospecific pollen. We used microsatellite p...

Whilst most studies reviewing the reliance of global agriculture on insect pollination advocate increasing the 'supply' of pollinators (wild or managed) to improve crop yields, there has been little focus on altering a crop's 'demand' for pollinators.Parthenocarpy (fruit set in the absence of fertilization) is a trait which can increase fruit quantity and quality from pollinator-dependent crops...

Gynodioecy is a dimorphic breeding system in which hermaphrodite and female individuals coexist in populations. Sex ratio and gender-relative lifetime seed production determine the stability of gynodioecy, and both genetic and ecological factors may influence these parameters. I analyzed the consequences of variation in population sex ratio and site elevation for the relative pollination succes...