Two cytotypes, one diploid (2n = 18) and one hexaploid (2n = 54), of Chenopodium album L. were found in West Bengal. Morphological differences exist in the two cytotypes. Diploid plants were taller and had different flowering time, larger leaves, and lower saponin content in the seed as compared with the polyploid plants. Polyploidy is not associated with reduction of pollen fertility. A general uniformity in chromosome size, normal meiosis, bivalent formation, and regular seed setting in the polyploid suggest that homozygosity is a result of a continuous process of selection and evolution. Low saponin content and high protein content in the seed of the diploid may prove to be useful in breeding this variety as an alternative source of protein.
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Kalyan Kumar Mukherjee (1986) studied this question.
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