Screening of pollen grains vis-à-vis whole plants of oilseed brassicas for tolerance to salt.

Pollen grains and whole plants of 11 cultivars of oilseed brassicas (B. juncea,B. campestris,B. carinata) were screened for salt tolerance. Whereas pollen germination percentage in sitting drop cultures served as a reliable index of pollen tolerance to NaCl, pollen-tube growth did not. Seed yield in plants of the same 11 cultivars raised in artificially salinized soils also proved to be a good index of whole plant tolerance to soil salinity. A close correspondence between pollen (gametophyte) and whole plant (sporophyte) responses to salinity was discovered. Our studies show that tolerance to salt is yet another trait expressed in both the sporophyte and gametophyte.