Abstract

Stomatal length and frequency and pollen grain diameter were examined as indirect methods for identification of 4x, 6x and 8x ploidy levels in Bromus inermis. The study was conducted in the greenhouse on seedlings and mature plants. Mean stomatal lengths were 40.4, 43.0, 53.1, and 66.6 µ for mature 4X (clonal), 4X (selfing), and 8X plants, respectively. Coefficients of variation among observations within each ploidy level were relatively low. Stomatal frequency decreased with increasing ploidy while pollen-grain diameter increased, but considerable overlapping occurred among ploidies for both characters. Greater ploidy differences and smaller standard deviations were associated with stomatal length rather than with stomatal frequency and pollen-grain diameter. Therefore, the former is recommended as a rapid method for identification of ploidy level.

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