Induced genetic variability for yield and yield traits in Basmati rice.

Abstract: The mutagenic effect of gamma rays, ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) and sodium Azide (SA) used either singly or in combination were observed for induced genetic variability for yield and yield traits in M 2 and M 3 generation in the two cultivars of Basmati rice. The observation mean range and coefficient of variation (CV) suggest that the mutagen treatment had wider values than the control. The majority of the mutagenic treatment induced negative shift for the mean away from the control. The observed changes in both the generations revealed that the magnitude of variability declined from M2 to M3 generation. The mean performance showed improvement in most of the mutagenic treatments in M 3 as compared to the corresponding treatments in M2 generation. The magnitude of CV in the treated populations as generally higher than the control for most of the traits in both the generations for both the varieties. All the three mutagens were quite effective in inducing genetic variability in Basmati rice. However, 1 5 kR, 25 kR and 30 kR dose of gamma rays, 0.03 M MS, 1. 5 mM