| Geographical and climatic factors limit the production of temperate rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Chile. Large thermal fluctuations of air and water temperatures affect the viability of pollen, causing high levels of spikelet sterility (blanking), resulting in reduced yields per hectare. Counting viable pollen grains, at the time of anthesis, may allow determining, ahead, whether there will be yield losses by spikelet sterility; besides, knowing the potential pollen viability serves as a powerful tool for material selection in breeding programs, and for determining which management factors may influence blanking. If performed manually, counting total and viable pollen grains can be extremely tedious, producing highly variable results. The present work had... |
