DAILY MITOTIC INDEX OF THE OFFSETS OF EICHHORNIA CRASSIPES IN LAKE GERIYO, ADAMAWA STATE AND ITS PROBABLE EFFECTS ON THE PLANT’S REPRODUCTION AND PROLIFERATION

The daily Mitotic cycle in the offsets of Eichhornia crassipes was investigated. The species Eichhornia crassipes ((Mart.) Solms-Laubach) of the family Pontederiaceae was found to have 2n=36 and n=18 number of chromosomes. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient, n=12, prob>/r/under Ho: Rho=0 was used in comparing day and night cycles. Mitosis in the offsets of E. crassipes occurred throughout the day and night with interphase and prophase stages being predominating and showing negative relationships with each other. There were no significant differences in the day time cycles, neither were there any significant difference in the night cycle at p=0. 01. And as it was for interphase and prophase, all other stages were generally frequent during the night cycle as well as the day cycle. The analysis also showed that although the offsets for the two experiments were collected on two separate days, the results at the end of first cycle (5.00 p.m.) merge imperceptibly into those at the beginning of the second cycle (6.00 p.m.). The taxon having indicated at least two mitotic peaks within the same 24 hours duration suggest that E. crassipes is mitotically vigorous and that more than two separate cell cycles are possible within a period of 24 hours. This probably may suggest why the plant is extremely gregarious in the field and proliferates faster than any other known taxon except bacteria. This may also lend support to the speculation that the mitotic E. crassipes has some under laying inherent pattern and that this partern may be too rigid for change. Statistical analysis also confirmed that the day cycle showed no significant variations from the night cycle, temperature rather than illumination seems to be the factor influencing mitosis in E. crassipes.