Mutagenic Effectiveness and Efficiency of Gamma Rays and HZ with Phenotyping of Induced Mutations in Lentil Cultivars

In mutation breeding, mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency are the base parameters to predict the mutagenic potency of any mutagen. Studies on mutagenic effectiveness and mutagenic efficiency of physical mutagen (gamma rays) and chemical mutagen (hydrazine hydrates; HZ) on two cultivars of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.), viz. DPL 62 (macrosperma) and Pant L 406 (microsperma) have been reported. Dry and healthy seeds were treated with four doses of each gamma rays (100-400 Gy), HZ (0.1-0.4 %) and their combinations. Frequencies of the induced agro-morphological variations into different phenotypic categories were estimated in M₂ population that resulted into identification and isolation of wide range of mutants with altered phenotypes. Data on effectiveness and efficiency of various mutagenic treatments calculated on the basis of the frequency of chlorophyll mutations, which showed effectiveness and efficiency were higher at the moderate doses of gamma rays and HZ, while in case of combination treatments; lower doses were most effective and efficient with few inter-varietal exceptions. Phenotyping of the mutants revealed that growth habits was the most sensitive category to which most of the mutant belongs, followed by leaf and flower/pod/seed in both the cultivars studied. Overall, the screened and isolated mutants with economically important agronomic traits can be further propagated in the subsequent generation for development of elite lentil mutant cultivars.