The basic moments of a process of obtaining apple tetraploids as donors of diploid gametes for apple breeding with polyploidy using are demonstrated. In industrial terms, triploids are of the greatest importance. The manifested effect of heterosis leads to the improvement of many characteristics - higher resistance to diseases, pests and adverse environmental conditions, greater autogamy than in diploids, less pronounced periodicity of fruiting, larger fruits and a convenient crown for harvesting. Triploids are developed as a result of crosses 2n × 3n or 2n × 4n. Tetraploids are necessary for more successful apple breeding with polyploidy using. For industry they are not of great importance but they are of interest as donors of diploid non-reduced gametes and allow to make the selection process more directional. One of the methods of experimental polyploidy is the induction of polyploids using mutagenes. The germs were treated with colchicines at concentrations 0.1% - 0.4% during 24 and 48 hours. According to the morphology the obtained plants were divided into five groups. Colchicine concentrations 0.3% and 0.4% during 48 hours of the treatment had a disastrous impact on the development of germs. As a result of the cytological analysis, tetraploids and chimeras were revealed, which were obtained from the seeds from the open pollination of Orlik and Svezhest (treatment variants – 0,1% colchicines solution and 24 and 48 hours of exposition), as well as from the seeds obtained as a result of the Svezhest × Bolotovskoye crossing. Tetraploids had a normal growth but they differed in large leaves, while chimeras were of low size with normal leaves and internodes.
Propagule pressure helps overcome adverse environmental conditions during population establishment
