Cytological Effects of Pesticides

Abstract

The cytological effects of some phenols which are either used as pesticides, or are the degradation or end-products of well known pesticides were tested on the meiosis of Vicia faba. The used phenols did not show much variations in the types of the induced abnormal P.M.Cs. The most abundant meiotic irregularities were: stickiness, lagging chromosomes, and anaphase bridges; less common phenomena e.g. fragmentation were also observed and discussed. P-nitrophenol was the most toxic of all the used phenols, since it produced the highest percentage at abnormal P.M.Cs. The used phenols did not effect pollen viability. More than 40, 000 P.M.Cs, and more than 50, 000 P.Gs were investigated in the present study.