Tendo em vista verificar se, com a duplicação do número de cromossômios, obter-se-iam seringueiras com vasos laticíferos de maior diâmetro que o observado em plantas normais e, conseqüentemente, de maior produção de látex, os autores, por meio de soluções de colchicina, trataram plantas recém-germinadas, assim obtendo poliplóides artificiais. No decurso dos trabalhos foi desenvolvida uma técnica especial, pela qual, de uma mesma semente de seringueira, eram obtidas duas plantas, uma normal e outra com o número duplo de cromossômios; dessa maneira, a planta normal se constitui em perfeita testemunha da planta poliplóide, podendo-se, assim, atribuir à poliploidia tôda e qualquer alteração que se venha a verificar na planta com o número duplo de cromossômios. Acreditam os autores que êsse mesmo processo poderá ser utilizado com êxito em outras plantas dicotiledôneas. Os resultados mostram que, nas plantas poliplóides, os estornas são maiores e em menor número, por unidade de superfície foliar, que nas plantas normais; observam-se também diferenças morfológicas nessas plantas, que se desenvolvem satisfatòriamente. Ainda não foram feitos estudos para a determinação do diâmetro dos vasos laticíferos. O material foi multiplicado por enxertia e está sendo incluído em experimentos a cargo da Seção de Plantas Tropicais.

Based on the assumption that latex production is positively correlated to the diameter of the latex vessels and hoping to obtain rubber plants with larger latex vessels than those observed in normal plants, the authors duplicated the chromosome number of small seedlings, using aqueous solutions of colchicine. Some polyploid plants with 72 chromosomes were obtained. A special technique was developed, ensuring the obtention of twin plants from a single seed, by splitting very young seedlings; one of them remained untreated, while the other was submitted to a colchicine aqueous solution. Any difference noted later between the plants could only be attributed to the treatment and in several cases chromosome doubling has been achieved. In this way the pair was constituted by a diploid (2n =36) and a tetraploid plant (2n =72). The results show that in the polyploid as compared to the normal plants the stomata are larger and in smaller number per area unit. Some morphological differences were also noticed. Up to now no measurements were taken of the latex vessels neither of the polyploids nor of the normal plants. The material was propagated by budding, and a large number of each developed clone is being included in field experiments to test their productivity and resistance to diseases.

The cultivation of coffee in the American coffee producing countries is not faced with any serious handicap. The future can not be far distant, however, when it will be necessary to establish new plantations back on the high-priced old exploited lands. Need will be felt for improved varieties. At the same time, it is not known if in a near future the American coffee growers will not be in trouble with diseases as terrible as Hemileia, which the present age of transport cannot restrict to non-American areas. In the program of coffee improvement, interspecific crosses are expected to take a very important place. The introducing of desired characteristics of other species into Coffea arabica by hybridization is made difficult by the fact that, while C. arabica is self-fertile, the other species are self-sterile. It is known, also, that the high cup quality C. arabica species, with 44 somatic chromosomes, gives sterile triploid hybrids (2n = 33) when crossed to the leaf disease resistant Coffea canephora and other diploid (2n = 22) species. Very seldom, however, do the triploids produce seed, as a result of back-cross to C. arabica either through open or controlled pollination. The cytological constitution of the plants obtained from these seeds is variable ; some triploids give rise to seedlings having mostly a chromosome number around 44 ; the progeny plants from other hybrids have this number mostly around 55. Numerous aneuploids have been found among these progenies. Attention has been given to the plants derived from the hybrids as to their developmental and production characteristics. At least two 44-chromosome plants have shown to be interesting in these respects and one of them, productive and self-fertile, showed up characteristics very similar to the maragogipe variety of C. arabica. More detailed comparative observations are necessary ; however, the obtaining of such a plant proves that the triploids are a permanent source of new cytological combinations that can be used in the future in the search for new vigourous and disease resistant coffee plants with high cup quality.