Question

What is male sterility?

Answer 1

Male sterility in plants implies an inability to produce or to release functional pollen, and is the result of failure of formation or development of functional stamens, microspores or gametes. In pollen sterility, the male sterile individuals differ from normal only in the absence or extreme scarcity of functional pollen grains. In structural or staminal male sterility the male flowers or stamens are malformed and non-functional or completely absent. Pollen sterility is by far the most common and the only one that has played a major role in plant breeding to avoid emasculation and hybrid seed production.