Characterization of ⁶⁰CO γ-ray induced pod trait of blackgram-A promising yield mutants

Purpose: Blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) possesses natural flower dropping character with self-pollination, which was highly challenging to create variability through hybridization. Gamma irradiation is a powerful tool to induce genetic alteration and improvement in crops with beneficial mutants. Hence, the present investigation focused on finding out the mutant characters related to the improvement of the agronomic characters and yield-related traits by using gamma irradiation. Pod mutant isolated with fruitful agronomic trait at M₂ (Mutagenic) generation was identified and isolated by gamma irradiation is a central focus in the present study, which enhances the yield of the blackgram.Materials and methods: Viable and uniform size of blackgram Vamban-4 seeds were irradiated at a different dose of ⁶⁰CO (Cobalt) γ-rays viz., 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 Gray (Gy). The further generations were screened and raised to M₃ and M₄ plants to select the stable mutants with yield traits.Results: In the M₂ generation, the following viable and pod mutants were identified, such as tall, dwarf, multipod, small pod, bold pod, striata pod. Morphological traits, such as plant height (PH), number of branches per plant (NBP), number of leaves per plant (NLP), number of cluster per plant (NCP), number of pods per plant (NPP), number of seeds per pod (NSP), pod length (PL), a hundred seed weight (HSW), seed yield per plant (SYP), were measured. Among the mutants, the increased morphogenetic traits were recorded in tall mutants (600 Gy), and the enhancement of yield characteristics noticed in multipod (800 Gy) and bold pod mutants (600 Gy). Compared to other doses, 600 Gy shows enhanced quantitative traits for blackgram improvement.Conclusion: The ⁶⁰CO γ-rays induced genetic variation in the yield and its related traits and obtained pod mutants, which are useful to enhance the commercial value of Vigna species and crop improvement.