Manual collection of fresh pollen

Fresh pollen can also be collected from e.g. maize by literally shaking the tassels.

  1. Shake maize tassels over large plastic trays at peak anthesis (when pollen shedding is at the highest, normally between 09.00h and 10.00h on field of sweet corn).
  2. Collect early morning after the dew dries, but before pollen shedding is complete.
  3. Transfer fallen pollen into containers.
  4. Clean collected pollen by using sieves (pore sizes 0.119 and 0.0043 cm) to remove anthers, insects, and other debris (Fig. 39).
  5. Store collected pollen at -20°C until ready for further testing.