Sterility in Angiosperms

Sterility in angiosperms may arise due to several causes. Either the anther may not be formed, or anthers are formed but meiosis may be abnormal.

A. In situations where anthers are not formed, they may take abortive forms and appear like petals or sepals. These conditions are referred to as petaloid and phyllody respectively. There are even cases where anther formation may be suppressed altogether. These cases of pollen sterility have premeiotic determination.

B. There are other examples in which anthers are produced but meiosis is abnormal resulting in the formation of non-viable pollen.

C. Sometimes normal pollen grains are formed but they are not released. This results from failure of anther dehiscence. Such a situation is also described by the term contabiscent anther.

D. Sometimes meiosis is normal but abortion can take place due to premature dissolution of callose. This can occur at any stage during microsporogenesis.