Hi, I'm interested in collecting pollen count data on a monoecious, wind pollinated species (common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia), at the level of individual plants in a large field experiment I am conducting this summer.
Ideally, I would like to be able to collect the inflorescences in the field prior to the male flowers opening, store them, and then count the pollen at a later date. However, I am unsure of how to store the inflorescences or whether I will be open to open the flowers (they are very small and numerous), afterwards to count the pollen. Does anyone have experience with pollen counts of this nature? If you have suggestions on appropriate storage materials (water, ethanol, none), or a method to open the flowers and count pollen afterwards, please contact me at gorto...@umn.edu. Thank you! Amanda ------------------------------------- Amanda J. Gorton amandagorton.wordpress.com PhD Candidate Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul, MN, 55108
