Self-pollination vs. cross-pollination in almond: pollen tube growth, fruit set and fruit characteristics

5 pages, 4 tables.Pollen tubes reaching the ovary, fruit set and the main fruit characteristics of six self-compatible genotypes ('Marta', 'Antoñeta', 'Guara', 'Lauranne', 'S2332' and 'S4017') of almond were studied after self- or cross-pollination. No significant differences after self- or cross-pollination were found in the number of pollen tubes reaching the ovary, the percentage of ovaries finally penetrated, fruit set and fruit characteristics. The results showed the possibility of obtaining suitable fertilization, yields and quality of fruits by self-pollination of self-compatible almond cultivars in a single cultivar orchard.The work was financed by the project ‘Mejora Genética del Almendro’ (AGF98-0211-C03-02) from the Plan Nacional de I + D of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología.Peer reviewe