Polyploidy in a Cultivar of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and Its Open Pollinated Progenies

Abstract

Polyploidy in a cultivar (Collection No: 1344) of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and numerical chromosomal variation in its twenty progenies were identified by cytological analysis. The plant was a triploid with chromosome number 2n=78, and the progenies showed a range of variation from 2n=52 to 2n=104. Morphological types were observed with variation in chromosome number. Possible origin of the mother plant is also discussed.