Polyploid

Crops

Polyploid crops may be naturally formed, or polyploidy may be induced by environmental, laboratory, or chemical factors (for example by treating seeds with the chemical colchicine). The induction of polyploidy is a common technique to overcome the sterility of a hybrid species during plant breeding. For example, triticale is the hybrid of wheat (Triticum turgidum) and rye (Secale cereale). It combines sought-after characteristics of the parents, but the initial hybrids are sterile. After polyploidization, the hybrid becomes fertile and can thus be further propagated to become triticale. (The more ancient hybrids such as