Determination of the Ploidy Level of Pure and Mixed Plant Populations of Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) by Flow Cytometry

To improve estimates of the true ploidy level of pure diploid triploid, and tetraploid sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) plants, and of populations of mixed ploidy, the effect of leaf age/size was evaluated on ploidy determination by flow cytometry. There were significant differences between old and young leaves, with young leaves giving the best estimate of the true ploidy level of the plants. The old leaves seemed to express a high degree of endopolyploidy.