Fruit set, seed development and embryo germination in interploid crosses of citrus

Interploid crosses of diploid Kinnow mandarin, Succari sweet orange and Sweet lime with tetraploid Kinnow were made reciprocally for the production of triploid plants. Low fruit set and occurrence of underdeveloped or empty seeds was common in all interploid crosses. The hybrid fruits harvested after 12-14 weeks or 7 months after pollination produced many underdeveloped and few developed seeds; however, tetraploid Kinnow as seed parent yielded more developed seeds per fruit. The under developed seeds were devoid of endosperm. Nucellar embryony was higher in the diploid than in the tetraploid strain of Kinnow. Immature embryos of seeds harvested 12-14 weeks after pollination were cultured in vitro on MS media supplemented with adenine sulphate (20 mg l−1) and malt extract (500 mg l−1). Maximum germination (75%) of hybrid embryos from underdeveloped seeds was obtained in 4× × 2× cross of Kinnow strains. The germinated plantlets were transferred into pots and noted 59-89.3% survival rate in various crosses.