Comparison of ultrastructure, pollen tube growth pattern and starch content in developing and abortive ovaries during the progamic phase in hazel

HIGHLIGHTS: In an abortive ovary of hazel, an integument seldom differentiated and a mature embryo sac never developed. In an abortive ovary of hazel, pollen tube growth was arrested at the style base about 40 days after blooming. Thus, fertilization of the ovule was precluded. Ovary abortion in the four hybrid cultivars was indicated to be associated with insufficient resource availability to support fruit set by all flowers, whereas ovary abortion in C. heterophylla was at least partly determined by pollen availability. In Northeast China, a high frequency of ovary abortion contributes to serious losses in yield of hazelnut. The development of pistillate inflorescences and fruit clusters of four large-fruited hybrid hazel cultivars and the small-fruited Corylus heterophylla were used to study ovary abortion and its possible causes during the progamic phase in hazel. The average number of pistillate (ANP) flowers per inflorescence and average number of fruit (ANF) per cluster of four hybrid hazel cultivars were 7.6–8.5 and 2.4–3.0 respectively; in C. heterophylla, its ANP and ANF was 5.8–6.2 and 3.5, respectively. The total drop varied from 50 to 67%. Ovary abortion in hazel initiated from about 30 days after blooming. The percentage of abortive ovaries (PAO) in the four hybrid hazel cultivars ranged from 63 to 72%, and was significantly higher than that of C. heterophylla (29–42%). Only the abortive ovary ratio of C. heterophylla was significantly reduced after artificial pollination. Fruit number per cluster was positively and negatively correlated with yield and nut mass, respectively. In abortive ovaries, the diameter remained less than 2 mm during the entire fruit development, an integument seldom differentiated and a mature embryo sac never developed. In addition, pollen tube growth was arrested at the style base about 40 days after blooming. Thus, fertilization of the ovule was precluded. Compared with abortive ovary, starch content in developing ovary of four hybrid hazel cultivars and C. heterophylla were significantly higher. This study suggests that abortive ovary was incapable to finish fertilization process due to the absence of mature embryo sac and arrested pollen tubes, and this is likely associate with insufficient resource availability to support fruit set by all flowers in four hybrid hazel cultivars, whereas ovary abortion in C. heterophylla is at least partly determined by pollen availability.