
THE CYTOLOGY OF THE SUGARCANE 
(contribution from the „Proefstation voor de Java-Suikerindustrie”’) 
by 
Dr. G. BREMER 
Second Part 
A CYTOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF SOME CULTIVATED KINDS AND OF 
THEIR PARENTS 
In the first part of the ,,Cytology of the Sugarcane’ (Genetica Vol. V 
p. 97 and 273) we treated of some species of the genus Saccharum and 
their hybrids. It was shown that the species Saccharum spontaneum and 
S. officinarum differ in chromosome number. Four distinctly different 
individuals of S. spontaneum had 56 as the haploid chromosome num- 
ber, while the very different kinds of S. officinarum e. g. Ardjoeno, 
Green German New Guinea, Fidji, Batjan and Bandjarmassin hitam had 
40 as the haploid number. It was communicated provisionally already, 
that Loethers-cane, which does not tally exactly with S. officinarum, 
possesses approximately 50 chromosomes in the haploid phase. A preli- 
minary investigation showed that Kassoer-cane, probably a sponta- 
neous hybrid of S. officinarum and S. spontaneum, has 68 chromoso- 
mes, just as some individuals obtained by crossing purposely these 
two species with one another. This haploid number was shown to be 
connected with the chromosome numbers 40 and 56 of the parents. The 
diploid chromosomenumber of these hybrids, which approximately 
reaches 136, can be explained only by assuming that, when fertilisation 
_with a male nucleus of S. spontaneum (Glagah) occurs, the number of 
chromosomes in the eggcell of the sugar-cane (S. officinarum) doubles, 
so that not 40 but 80 sugarcane-chromosomes meet with 56 glagah- 
chromosomes with which they form the diploid number 136. After re- 
duction, the haploid chromosomenumber 68 then results. 
Genetica VI. 32 
San; 
