Polyembryony in Telfairia occidentalis (cucurbitaceae)

Abstract

T his study assessed the frequency of polyembryony and rudimentary embryos of fluted pumpkin and its effect on seed weight, phyllotaxy and germination to determine if it has consequences for seedling establishment, which is critical for species survival. Five hundred (500) T. occidentalis were extracted from their fruits, weighed individually, labelled, and then planted. Two weeks after the germination of each of the 500 seeds, the seedlings were observed, and their phyllotaxy forms were recorded. An assessment of the rudimentary embryos in the planted seeds was carried out. First, at 6 Weeks After Planting (WAP), all germinated (above ground) embryos were recorded and then severed using a pair of scissors and observed for two weeks to note any proliferation and emergence of subsequent seedlings. Finally, at 8WAP, when all seedlings were uprooted, observations for rudimentary embryos were made and recorded. Seed weight, phyllotaxy and germination parameters were tallied with the corresponding Polyembryony classes and statistically analyzed for correlation. Even though 90% of seeds had polyembryos, only 6.4% emerged at germination. New polyembryony groups documented are D1 (two embryos, with only one emerging at germination), T1 (three embryos, with only one emerging at germination), and T2 (three embryos, with only two emerging at germination). There was a significant positive correlation of seed weight with the number of emerged embryos from a seed. Polyembryony in T. occidentalis reduced seedling development, but the rudimentary embryos conferred a reproductive alternative by increasing the survival chances of offspring from each seed.f