Effects of the Insecticide Carbicron on Meiotic Chromosome and other Morphological Characters of Wheat

Abstract

Chromosomal aberrations viz. sticky and contrac­ted chromosomes, bridges, fragments and micro-nuclei were significantly increased in meiocytes of hexaploid and tetraploid wheat when seeds and/or plants were treated with the insecticide, Carbicron - 100. The insecticide treatment also significantly reduced plant height at heading, number of fertile tillers, number of spikeleta per ear and number of grains per ear in both the wheat species. In an attempt to determine whether any of the observed cytological and morphological effects can be transmitted to subsequent generations, plants were grown from seeds of the treated plants in the following year. In the selfed progeny of the hexaploid wheat neither any increase in the proportion of chromosomal aberrations nor any significant effect on the morphological characters was detected. In tetraploid wheat a significant reduction in plant height and number of fertile tillers was detected but for chromosomal aberrations and other morphological traits no difference between progeny of treated and untreated families was found.