Optimized gamma radiation produces physiological and morphological changes that improve seed yield in wheat

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Breeding
• Radiation Biology

Background:

• Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) improvement is crucial for global food security.
• Gamma radiation is a known mutagen for inducing genetic variability in crops.
• Optimizing radiation doses can lead to desirable agronomic trait enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of gamma radiation on morphological and agronomic traits of bread wheat.
• To identify optimal gamma radiation doses for inducing beneficial mutations.
• To evaluate selected M5 and M6 generation mutant lines for yield and other important characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Bread wheat seeds were exposed to various gamma radiation doses.
• Selected M5 and M6 generation mutant lines were evaluated for morphological and agronomic traits.
• Statistical analysis was performed to determine the contribution of key variables to grain yield.

Main Results:

• Optimal gamma radiation doses for desirable changes were found to be 100-200 Gy.
• Mutant lines exhibited reduced seed loss, increased grain yield, and improved yield components.
• New phenotypic traits, including drought tolerance indicators and increased fertile florets, were observed.
• Physiological characteristics such as photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content showed improvement in some mutants.
• Flag leaf area, seeds per spike, and spike number per plant explained 95.8% of grain yield variation.
• Grain yield increased by over 45% in some mutant lines, a significant advancement.

Conclusions:

• Gamma radiation is an effective tool for the genetic improvement of bread wheat.
• Optimized mutagenesis and selection can accelerate the development of high-yielding wheat varieties.
• The identified mutant lines possess enhanced agronomic and physiological traits with potential for commercial application.