The objective of this work was to evaluate the germinative response of the pollen grains (PG) from
Aloe vera
and
A. saponaria, to different times after anthesis (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 h). PG on agar (4 g.l
-1) and sucrose (0.06 mol.l
-1) means were cultivated, to determine germination percentage and the time until the germination reached 1 % at least. A sample of pollen collected at anthesis was cultivated in vitro. After 60 min, pollen tubes from
A. vera reached a length of 106.7±24.8 μm compared with a length of 165.6±22.5 μm from
A. saponaria. Initial germinative capacity of the PG (51 % in
A. vera; 45 % in
A. saponaria) diminished, and germination time until pollen tubes emission (11 min in
A. vera; 14 min in
A. saporaria) increased with time of storage in laboratory conditions.
A. saponaria pollen was more sensitive to the aging effects, being germination inhibited ( 0 %) at 72-96 h; while in
A. vera, this germination inability was observed at 120-144 h. 57 min and 27 min were the maximum times until the germination of the GP stored during 120 h and 72 h in
A. vera y
A. saponaria, respectively. Low durability of the pollen germinative capacity in both species, suggests that the treatments for mutagenesis of these reproductive cells, may be carried out during the first 24 hours after anthesis.
