Amphasys AG, Technopark Lucerne, 6039 Root D4, Switzerland

Accelerating Crop Improvement

with Pollen Quality Analysis

Crop Specific Pollen Applications

Sales Guide for Amphasys Distributors

Content

2© Amphasys

This presentation should help you to:

▪ Understand the application specific benefits of pollen quality monitoring

▪ Get crop specific information on key applications and sales/marketing

arguments based on customer feedback

Why Assessing Pollen Quality?General Application Considerations

The following statements widely describe the context of pollen analysis and apply acrossplant species.

▪ Seed production and plant breeding teams are interested in predicting yield based onpollen viability and optimize their processes in order to maximize it. Similarly, fruitproducers regard pollen quality and abundance as major factors impacting the yield oforchards.

▪ For most vegetable and row crops, hybrid seeds are produced. This requires crossinggenetically different female and male plants. For a successful pollination, pollen needsto be within a defined viability range, that differs across plant genotypes. Thus, in theseed production environment, pollen quality needs to be tested at several points of thesupply chain, from harvest to application, to choose the optimal intervention strategy.

▪ Pollinator plants are evaluated for the amount of pollen produced and its viability in agiven growth condition (in the field, in greenhouses or in cages). Pollen developmentand viability are affected by high temperatures, inappropriate light amount and quality,phytochemical treatments, thus testing pollen viability contributes to finetuning themost suitable growth conditions to ensure high yields.

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Why Assessing Pollen Quality?General Application Considerations

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▪ A considerable amount of research is geared towards understanding the impact ofspecific environmental conditions on pollen development, that can be assessed by IFCanalyses

▪ When artificial pollination (manual or mechanized) is required, it is crucial to know theideal time for male flower harvest to maximize pollen viability and quantity.

▪ The pollen of a number of species is amenable to storage for later use. The methodutilized for pollen storage and its duration have a large impact on the quality, andultimately on the seed yield and fruit set.

▪ Traditional methods to assess pollen quality, such as fluorescent staining andgermination assays are time consuming, were limited in number of samples that couldbe analyzed in a day, tedious and prone to operator bias, thus not statistically sound.On the contrary, IFC measurements take a few minutes from sample preparation toresult, are unbiased and potentially deliver 100-fold more datapoints.

Why Assessing Pollen Quality?Sales and Marketing Considerations

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BREEDING

PRODUCTION

RESEARCHSEED

PRODUCTION

ACADEMIC

RESEARCH

SEED COMPANIES

NON - PROFIT RESEARCH

UNIVERSITIES

COMMERCIAL COMPANIES

Male line selectionHeat Tolerance

Reproductive BiologyImproved crossing

efficiencies

Maximize daily pollination window

Improved synchronization

Optimize F to M ratio

Optimize collection, drying and storage

Set quality gates in supply chain

Characterize elite male lines

Optimize manual pollination

Improved yield forecasting

To understand the biology for better

breeding

To save time and money in breeding

programs

To optimize processes for higher

yields

To minimize losses in production

Microspore development

Confidential, © Amphasys

On-demand pollination

Tomato, Sweet and Hot Pepper, Eggplant

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Pollen harvest and pollination may take place in different geographical locations. Thus, viability needs to be assessed before and after shipment

▪ Identification of optimal pollen harvest time

▪ Optimization of pollen storage method (desiccation, storage at low temperature and towing) and duration

▪ Identification of minimal pollen quality level and pollen amount required for maximal seed yield

▪ Dilution of high-quality pollen to achieve the viability target for pollination

▪ Assessment of line-specific pollen development success (proportion of aberrant pollen)

▪ Evaluation of the natural variation for heat tolerance in reproductive organs within different plant species

▪ Male line characterization to speed up breeding

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Tomato, Sweet and Hot Pepper, Eggplant

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Quality control of pollen in the entire supply chain

▪ Quality gates in the pollen supply chain

▪ Yield forecasting by using pollen viability as an indication for seed harvest

▪ Improve seed production, seed quantity and quality

▪ More efficient resource allocation on a daily basis by determining:

➢ Which greenhouses should be hand-pollinated

➢ Which greenhouse has the highest pollen viability for pollen collection

➢ Ideal timing to ensure maximum viability for pollen collection/pollination

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Tomato – Customer Statements

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Dr. Ivo Rieu, Radboud University

Associate Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology

«The Ampha Z32 system has enabled us to analyze thousands

of tomato plants grown at high temperatures and led to the

discovery of several old tomato varieties that can maintain their

pollen health and final yield much better than the current ones»

Dr. Ewa ShreepaathySeed Technology Research at Rijk Zwaan

“Thanks to the expertise of Amphasys with pollen analysis, we were able to identify the minimum pollen quality required for

optimum seed set for individual tomato lines"

Wheat, Barley, Rice, Rye, Sorghum

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Assessment of pollen dispersion in the field from male to female plants using pollen traps (count of pollen grains)

▪ Evaluation of pollen development and viability upon heat or drought stress

▪ Determination of pollen survival time upon anther dehiscence

▪ Characterization of pollinator lines as to pollen amount produced and viability

▪ Assessment of microspores and embryo development for DH production

▪ Male line characterization to speed up breeding

▪ Pollen quality is one of 25 criteria that are reviewed in line selection breeding programs

▪ Selection of good pollinators for hybrid breeding

▪ Improve seed production, seed quantity and quality

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Corn

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Pollen dispersion in the field from male to female plants using pollen traps (count of grains)

▪ Development of pollen storage method

▪ Identification of optimal pollen harvest time and optimization of mechanized collection method

▪ Determination of pollen survival time upon anther dehiscence

▪ Assessment of pollen development, viability and amount upon heat or drought stress

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

▪ Characterization of male line performance in the field in terms of amount of pollen produced, viability and size of pollen grains

▪ On-demand pollen dispersion and pollinations for:

➢ Overcoming harsh environmental conditions during pollination period

➢ Asynchronous flowering and critical crosses

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Corn

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Check pollen quality before pollination, to improve pollen preservation and for rescue pollinations when natural pollination was not sufficient to get a good seed yield

▪ Optimization of the female to male ratio allows for significant cost saving in row crop hybrid seed production

▪ Improved synchronization: Assess time of maximal pollen dehiscence

▪ Based on exact flowering time supported by pollen viability data, development of females and males can be accelerated or delayed by applying hormones or curing the top of the plant

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Corn – Customer Success Story: PowerPollen

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PowerPollen®, a US based AgTech company has engineered an on-demand pollination solution that complements the natural process, reduces the cost of inputs, and mitigates adverse weather effects.

PowerPollen® is enabling corn pollination on-demand, thereby improving seed production by optimizing the cross-pollination process with the use of preserved pollen. PowerPollen’s® pollen preservation system relies on the Amphasys high throughput Ampha Z32 Pollen Analyzer to provide data-driven pollen quality monitoring. This process helps to drive increased productivity and reliability for seed production.

Measuring Pollen Quality Matters

The viability of freshly shedding pollen is negatively impacted by many

environmental factors. To avoid putting low quality pollen into storage,

PowerPollen® frequently monitors the viability of freshly shedding pollen

using the Ampha Z32. This ensures only pollen of the highest viability is

placed into preservation. The Ampha Z32 is used a second time to

measure the viability of pollen once it is removed from preservation.

Pollen quality monitoring enables PowerPollen® to:

▪ Monitor the viability of freshly shedding pollen

▪ Place high viability pollen into preservation

▪ Measure the viabilty of pollen post preservation

▪ Apply pollen on-demand to receptive females

On-Demand Pollination Solution

PowerPollen® maximizes seed purity, yield and mitigates the risk of

decreased crop output by providing seed producers with a pollen

preservation tool which results in a higher return on investment.

Anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of global hybrid seed corn production

is lost due to poor timing of cross pollination. Under normal conditions,

pollen is shed within a day or two after silk emergence, allowing for full

fertilization of the husk. However, when the male’s optimum pollen

release date is not synced with the female’s optimum silk receptivity

date, kernel formation is sacrificed. PowerPollen® technology enables

seed producers to apply preserved pollen in perfect timing with the

female’s optimum receptivity.

Left image: Drought impacted seed

production. Right image: Drought

impacted seed production with one

PowerPollen® application.

Dr. Todd Krone, CEO of PowerPollen® :

«We use the Ampha Z32 to check pollen quality

before and during pollen collection and later for

the pollination process. The Amphasys technology

also enables us to rapidly develop and further

improve our preservation methods.»

Cucurbitaceae

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Optimization of male flower harvest time for manual pollination

▪ Assessment of ideal pollination time (maximal pollen liberation and viability)

▪ Optimization of flower storability duration

▪ Watermelon: determination of plant ploidy from pollen size

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

▪ Improve seed production, seed quantity and quality

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Ornamentals

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Identification of optimal pollen harvest time

▪ Optimization of pollen harvest method

▪ Optimization of pollen storage method and duration

▪ Assessment of plant ploidy from pollen size

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

▪ To work with and cross asynchronous flowering flowers

▪ Optimize manual pollination

▪ Quality control of stored pollen

▪ Improve seed production, seed quantity and quality

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Sunflower

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Optimization of pollen harvest method

▪ Optimization of pollen storage method and duration

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

▪ Improve seed quantity and quality

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Rape Seed

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Male line performance: Characterization of pollinator lines as to pollen amount produced and viability

▪ Improved synchronization and identification of effective pollination window: based on exact flowering data based on pollen viability, females and males can be accelerated or delayed by applying hormones or curing the top of the plant – using flowering data based on exact pollen viability data

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

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Brassicaceae

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Assessment of pollen quality, quantity and maturation stage for difficult self-incompatible crosses

▪ Evaluation of microspore and embryos developmental stage for the generation of DH lines

▪ Characterization of pollinator lines as to pollen amount produced and viability

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

▪ Improve seed production, seed quantity and quality

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Carrot and Fennel

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Characterization of pollinator lines as to pollen amount produced and viability

▪ Optimize crossing success of inbred depressed lines

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

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Onion

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Identification of optimal pollen harvest time

▪ Optimization of mechanized pollen harvest

▪ Optimization of pollen storage method (desiccation, storage at low temperature and towing) and duration

▪ Characterization of male lines to speed up breeding

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Fruit Trees

Key applications and sales/marketing arguments based on customer feedback

▪ Optimization of flower harvest as to blooming stage and time of the day

▪ Optimization of pollen extraction process

▪ Optimization of pollen storage method (desiccation, storage at low temperature and towing) and duration

▪ Pre-application (insect-mediated, manual or mechanized pollination) assessment of pollen quality

▪ Optimization of pollination method

▪ Optimization of farm management practices to enhance pollen yield

▪ Research on reproductive biology

▪ Evaluation if artificial pollination is a feasible approach in areas where the natural pollination process is compromised

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