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Dose dependent decrease was recorded in plant height where there is a significant decrease in higher
mutagenic concentration i.e., 71.41cm and 59.22cm in 0.08% and 0.10% EMS respectively as
compared with control (105.24 cm) (Graph-4). Decreased plant height may be attributed to disturbed
physiology such as auxin reduction (Krishna et al., 1984) or metabolic disruption may facilitate
reducing in plant height.
In mutation breeding programme, the ultimate aim is to improve yield and its various attributed traits
Panigrahi et al. (2015). Number of fertile branches/plant and capsules/plant significantly reduced in
higher dose of mutagen i.e., 0.08% and 0.10% EMS as compared with control (Graph-5and 6
respectively) whereas, lower dose of mutagen increases number of branches and number of capsules
per plant in present study, revealing close correlation between these two characters. Similar results
were observed by Waghmare and Mehra (2000) in Lathyrus sativus.
The average seed setting recorded in control was 9 seeds per capsule. The maximum number of seeds
per capsule were observed in 0.02% EMS i.e., 9.2 seeds per capsule. While, significant decrease was
recorded in higher dose of mutagen i.e., 0.08% and 0.10% EMS as compared with control (Graph-7).
The average weight of 1000 seeds appearing in control weighed 6.34g in control, while it decrease
from 6.38g to 4.99g in treated mutagenic concentrations i.e., 0.02% to 0.10% EMS (Graph-8), where
there is significant decrease in 0.08% and 0.10% EMS . Average total yield per plant recorded in
control was 1.36g. The maximum yield was recorded in 0.02% EMS i.e., 1.48g, while, significant
decrease was recorded in higher dose of mutagen i.e., 0.08% and 0.10% EMS as compared with
control (Graph-9).
Significant reduction was recorded at higher doses (0.08% and 0.10%) of EMS. Similar finding was
observed in Vicia faba by Vandana and Dubey (1998). Total yield/plant is directly proportional with
number of capsules/plant, as the number of capsules gets increased; it increases the total number of
seeds, ultimately increasing the total yield/plant.
Chlorophyll and Carotenoid Content
Average total chlorophyll and carotenoid content observed in controlled plant was 1.324g and 0.52g
respectively. Compared to control, total chlorophyll content gets significantly decreased to 1.036g in
0.10% EMS, while significant decrease in carotenoid content was recorded at 0.08% and 0.10% EMS
(0.29g and 0.21g respectively). Whereas, at lower dose of mutagen (0.02% EMS), both chlorophyll
and carotenoid content get slightly increased (i.e., 1.451g and 0.56g respectively) (Graph 10).
The correlation between chlorophyll and carotenoid contents with plant yield has been demonstrated
by Hou et al., (2009) in Arthrospira platensis and by Borzouei et al., (2010) in Triticum aestivum.
The estimation of total chlorophyll and carotenoid content plays a vital role in determining the
physiological resistance and tolerance level of the plant against various environmental stresses.
Morphological Traits
In the mutation breeding programs, morphological variations facilitate a desirable direction to
improvise different traits of crops. Various morphological variants were observed in cotyledonary
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