Screening on the methods for detecting the pollen viability of Nicotiana

To determine a rapid and accurate method in pollen viability detection of Nicotiana, in vitro germination was applied in testing the viability of the mature pollen stained with FDA-PI, TTC, I₂-KI and Benzidine from Nicotiana tabacum L 'K326', N. repanda and N. rustica. The results demonstrated that the most accurate and effective method was in vitro germination combining TTC method, which could detect the pollen viability rapidly, while the other three staining methods were not applicable to the pollen viability detection of Nicotiana.