Meiotic Studies on Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet from North Indian Plains

A total of 61 populations of A. indicum were collected from different regions of the North Indian Plains. All the collections showed n=21 as the gametic chromosome number with normal meiotic behavior in most of the populations. However, 23 populations showed abnormal meiosis with some of the following: laggards, secondary association of chromosomes, bridge formation, cytomixis, vagrants, early disjunction, inter bivalent connections and multipolarity. The abnormalities manifested through the formation of monads, dyads, infertile pollens, etc. One population each from Jaipur and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan exhibited the presence of 0-1 B-chromosome along with 21 bivalents. This is the first report for B-chromosome in the species at world level.