X-Ray Irradiation Studies in Coccinia indica W. et A

Abstract

Seeds of Coccinia indica were X-radiated to induce breakage in the Y chromosome to scan the active regions carrying female suppressing and male promoting genes in it and to study the effect of radiations on the sex ratio in the population. Irradiated plants showed poor development of sex organs in male and female flowers. Meiosis was highly irregular characterised by the presence of univalents and multivalents. A higher frequency of females (92.03%±2.71) in the irradiated population than in nature (63.8%±4.81) indicates the great susceptibility of male plants to radiations.