How to Process Fresh Pollen Samples

Pollen is removed from the anthers of a flower.

Pollen collection can be time-consuming, but is a fairly simple process that is very useful for many purposes. With careful processing, gardeners and breeders can use collected pollen to deliberately cross-pollinate their plants, creating new varieties, or to purposefully breed plants that are rare or are not flourishing in an area where they should be common. Pollen can also be collected for the purpose of study in biology. These steps will help with storing pollen that has been collected from many kinds of plants.

Things You'll Need

• Tweezers
• Glassine envelopes
• Lamp, oven or desiccant
• Plastic cups
• Fine mesh screen
• Glass vials
• Labels
• Refrigerator or freezer

Instructions

Instructions

1. Collect anthers. Anthers are long, slender filaments in a flower that have two lobes at the top, and are best collected from intact, partially opened buds. (See References 1, 2, and 3)

2. Clean any debris or insects from the anthers. A tweezers is helpful for this process. (See Reference 3)

3. Store the anthers in glassine bags that have been labeled to help you remember the specimens that they were taken from. (See Reference 5)

4. Dry the anthers. There are many ways to do this. Two gentle methods that are good for immediate pollination are sun drying or using a 100 watt lamp that is at least 18 inches away from the specimen for 24 hours. The specimen needs a drying temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius. (See References 3 and 5) Using an oven or a desiccant are common methods for long-term storage; you may need to store the pollen in a different container for these methods. (See References 2 and 4) You can also freeze-dry pollen or use silica gel as a desiccator, but these methods require special equipment. (See Reference 6)

5. Put your dried anthers into a plastic cup. Cover the cup with a fine mesh screen (200-300 mesh), and seal with another plastic cup. Flip the cups and shake 10-20 times. The pollen should be separated from the anthers and fall into the bottom cup. (See Reference 5) This process may vary somewhat according to the type of plant that pollen is being collected from.

6. Transfer the pollen collected in the cup to glass vials that have also been labeled to help you remember which specimen it was collected from. It is best that the pollen is stored loosely and with no compacting. (See References 5 and 6)

7. Keep pollen that is intended for immediate pollination at room temperature for about a day, or in the refrigerator for two or three without any loss of viability. (See Reference 5)

8. Freeze pollen that is intended for long-term storage at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Freezing pollen is very simple and only requires that it is as dry as possible before being frozen, as it is crystals forming in cells that causes damage to a sample. Keep the pollen in the vials so that there is no contamination and you remember what plant the pollen was collected from. Frozen pollen should have a good viability rate if it is to be used for pollination. (See Reference 4) If it is to be used as a biological specimen, glacial acetic acid, acetone, or ethyl alcohol can be used for storage, although the specimen may become brittle after prolonged exposure. (See Reference 2)

Tips & Warnings

• The size and shape of flowers varies tremendously. A little improvisation may be required depending upon what type of plant you are collecting pollen from.

• Avoid collecting and processing pollen on humid or rainy days, as this interferes with the release of pollen from the anthers. (See Reference 3)

References

• How to Collect Pollen
• Crossing Tomatoes
• Pollen Processing
• Pollen Collection
• Controlled pollination methods for Melaleuca alternifolia