Inheritance of B chromosomes in garden roses

Transmission of B chromosomes in tetraploid (2n=28) garden roses was studied. A total of 1 304 seeds were used in the experiment which were obtained from various crossings and selfings made between two 1B and four 0B parents. B chromosomes were inherited in only 51 plants out of a progeny of 143. In the progeny 1B was more common in occurrence than 2Bs. About 17% of the plants were aneuploids. In general, the b chromosomes adversely affected survival, vigour and pollen fertility of the progeny plants.This work is a part of a Ph.D. thesis of the University of London (1980).