We review developments in cone and seed production research during the past decade. We conclude that although cone induction techniques, including hormonal and cultural procedures, have been refined, they still do not fully overcome juvenility or noninductive environmental effects. The role pollen plays in enhancing seed production and the genetic quality of seed is discussed. Techniques for ha...

Cucurbit crops are mostly produced for their immature or mature fruits. However, a relatively high proportion of cucurbit fields are destined for seed production, either for seed consumption or for propagation material. Production of cucurbits for seed consumption (as a snack food) is very popular in some parts of the globe and almost unknown in others. Open-pollinated cultivars (inexpensive se...

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is an invasive weed of field crops and human-disturbed habitats in Europe. As well as in its natural range (North America), common ragweed is a threat to human health due to its abundant allergenic pollen release. Most studies have been focused on airborne pollen monitoring, but to date, no data have been available on precise individual plant pollen a...

In gynodioecious plant species with nuclear-cytoplasmic sex determination, females and hermaphrodites plants can coexist whenever female have higher seed fitness than hermaphrodites. Although the effect of self fertilization on seed fitness in hermaphrodites has been considered theoretically, this effect is far from intuitive, because it can either increase the relative seed fitness of the fema...