Cytological observations on meitotic cells of barley plants (
Hordeum vulgare) grown after seed treatment (1000 ppm, 12 hours), or seedling spraying (500 ppm), with one of 15 pesticides (Herbicides: Alanap-3, Atrazine, Banvel-D, Cytrol, Embutox E, Hyvar X, Lorox, Monuron, Simazine; Insecticides: Endrin, Phosphamidon, Sevin; Insect chemosterilants: ENT-50612, Botran) indicated that all of the pesticides were capable of inducing chromosome aberrations and, in certain cases, abnormal cellular behavior, such as cytoplasmic furrowing. The chromosomal aberrations observed included stickiness, extreme clumping or coales-cence (“chromatin bodies”), chromosome bridges and fragments and micronuclei. In addition, asynchronous nuclear and cellular divisions were observed. Chromosome aberrations in meiotic cells of C
1 generation plants ranged from 0.26 to 66.50% and in the C
2 generation from 0 to 11.34%. Chromosome aberrations in meiotic cells of plants after spraying the seedlings ranged from 0 to 8.70%. Certain pesticide treatments produced chromosome aberrations in the C
1 or the C
2 generation which exceeded the X-ray (5, 500 R) and ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS, 1000 ppm, 12 hours) treatments used for comparative purposes.
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