Seedlings of three cultivated varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris L. e.g., Premier, Prince and Climbing have been treated with aqueous solution of colchicine.
Polyploid plants were obtained in all the three varieties and treatment with 0.25% colchicine solution produced maximum number of polyploids. In the tetraploids, deformed, thick and dark green leaves, stunted growth, delayed flowering, changes in size of stomata and pollen grains and reduced fertility have been observed and discussed with reference to previous observations.
Meiotic studies of all the tetraploids have revealed exact doubling but different combinations of uni-, bi-, tri-and quadrivalents have been observed. PMCs with complete set of quadrivalent formation have not been observed. Occurrence of high frequency of bivalents has been discussed. Maximum number of quadrivalents was 4.