Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Climate change and the associated increased frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves pose a risk to crop cultivations worldwide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the return period of intense heatwaves will be drastically decreasing until the year 2100. Plenty of research was able to show that an increase in temperature is often accompanied with a reduction in yields. How heatwaves influence the reproductive development and male sterility in Fragraria x ananassa (cultivar: Florence), which phase of development is most vulnerable and the minimum amount of days required for permanent damage is the focus of this work. Using two different pollen stains we were able to show that a six-day heat event (33 °C/28 °C; day/night) during the early reproductive development phase caused a significant decrease of pollen amount as well as a significant decrease of viable pollen in Fragararia x ananassa flowers. Aditionally, we established a protocol for testing the in-vitro germination ability of F. x ananassa pollen.