Abstract:Four cultivars of Phaseolus coccineus L., five cultivars of P. vulgaris L. and one collectionof P. vulgaris var. aborigineus (Burk.) Baudet were examined cytologically for the presenceof secondary association of bivalents (bivalent pairing) during metaphase 1 of meiosis in pollen mother cells. Statistical methods were presented for evaluating the deviation of the observed degree of association to that expected at random. The degree of secondary pairing wasfound to be highly significant. Transmission electron microscope techniques were modified to enable the viewing of squashed but intact pollen mother cells which showed that a physicalconnection could occur between bivalents secondarily associated.