Effects of Sucrose, Boric Acid, pH, and Incubation Time on in Vitro Germination of Pollen and Tube Growth of Chinese fir (Cunnighamial lanceolata L.)
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear Authors in my experience pollen storage conditions (time and temperature) could influence pollen germination, I suggest you to write in the article the effective storage time at 4°C, after collection of the pollen, for all the clones. Some suggestions are in the comments directly in the corrected text that I set you.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Point 1: Dear Authors in my experience pollen storage conditions (time and temperature) could influence pollen germination, I suggest you to write in the article the effective storage time at 4°C, after collection of the pollen, for all the clones. Some suggestions are in the comments directly in the corrected text that I set you.
Response 1: The suggestion has been considered and the changes were made in lines 105 -107.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
In general, it is an interesting study. The paper is well written. However, I have found several issues that needs to be clarified.
L 52 ……pollen grains as these plant organs…… - Pollen grains are not plant organs. It is better to say structures
L 78 – It is impotent to emphasize that in some plant species very simple medium and no particular environmental conditions are needed to prompt pollen germination. In my opinion, it is worth to add more references, e. g. Denisow B., 2006. The biological value of pollen of some black currant cultivars (Ribes nigrum L.) Acta Agrobotanica, 59(1): 147-154.
L 97-98 The weather conditions during pollen release or during pollen grains formation are usually the point for pollen viability and pollen germination
L 105 – In future, use paper bags, not plastic. Plastic bags change environmental conditions considerably (mainly humidity, which is essential for pollen germination in many species)
L 112 - How the pH was measured?
L295/296 - the species do not germinate. Therefore, rephrase the sentence
I also inserted several comments indirectly in the manuscript
Tables 2 ,3,4,5,5,7,8,9- letters are not indicated with lower-case. Please, improve
I don't feel qualified to judge about the English language and style as I am not an English speaker. However, the text is easy to follow and entirely understandable.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Point 1: L 52 …pollen grains as these plant organs…… - Pollen grains are not plant organs. It is better to say structures
Response 1: The change has been made in line 52, and the word structures considered instead of plant organs.
Point 2: L 78 – It is impotent to emphasize that in some plant species very simple medium and no particular environmental conditions are needed to prompt pollen germination. In my opinion, it is worth to add more references, e. g. Denisow B., 2006. The biological value of pollen of some black currant cultivars (Ribes nigrum L.) Acta Agrobotanica, 59(1): 147-154.
Response 2: No more references were added.
Point 3: L 97-98 The weather conditions during pollen release or during pollen grains formation are usually the point for pollen viability and pollen germination
Response 3: The question is not clear, and we don’t know what exactly required, so no changes have been made in lines 97-98.
Point 4: L 105 – In future, use paper bags, not plastic. Plastic bags change environmental conditions considerably (mainly humidity, which is essential for pollen germination in many species).
Response 4: The suggestion is highly appreciated and in future we will use paper bags.
Point 5: L 112 - How the pH was measured?
Response 5: The pH was measured by using a digital pH-meter after adjusting the solution using HCl and NaOH, the changes were made in lines 112-113.
Point 6: L295/296 - the species do not germinate. Therefore, rephrase the sentence
Response 6: The sentence has been rephrased and the changes were inserted in lines 295-297.
Point7: Tables 2 ,3,4,5,5,7,8,9- letters are not indicated with lower-case. Please, improve
Response 7: The points is not clear, and we don’t know what exactly required, so no changes have been made to Tables 2 ,3,4,5,5,7,8,9.
Author Response File: Author Response.doc
