Effect of Substituted Ureas on Plant Cells I. Cytological effects of isoproturon on the root meristem cells of Allium cepa

Abstract

Modern weed control requires adequate use of herbicides for effective weed control. Substituted ureas are one of the major groups of persistent herbicides (Horowitz 1969, Chandler and Savage 1980), widely used on various crops (Fryer and Makepeace 1978). Understanding of their genotoxic potential is important in view of the fact that a few compounds of this group have already been reported to be mutagenic, carcinogenic (IARC monographs, Seiler 1979) and clastogenic (Wuu and Grant 1966, 1967). Although, mutagenicity of these chemicals could not conclusively be demonstrated in bacterial test systems even after the metabolic activation (Grutman et al. 1984, Moriya et al. 1983). Badi and Elkington (1982) studied the antimitotic and chromotoxic effects of isoproturon on plant chromosomes. However, their study confined to the treatment effect only. In the present paper we describe the cytological effects of isoproturon in addition to concentration effect on root growth in the root meristem cells of Allium cepa. © 1990, Japan Mendel Society, International Society of Cytology. All rights reserved.