A modified method of flow cytometric seed screen simplifies the quantification of progeny classes with different ploidy levels

Flow cytometric analysis of ten bulked seeds is proposed to quantify particular embryo ploidy classes in Hieracium. The method is recommended 1) for the detection and quantification of residual sexuality in facultative apomicts, which can generate progeny from heteroploid crosses, 2) for the quantitative screening of pollen donors with different ploidy levels, based on the fertilization success of the maternal plant, and 3) for the screening of parents producing a high proportion of polyhaploids.