Morphological spectrum of gamma rays and ems induced viable mutants in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp)

Seeds of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) variety CO 7 and Tirunelveli local were treated with gamma ray doses at 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 Gy and EMS (Ethyl Methane Sulphonate) doses at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mM. The total of 248 mutants from gamma irradiated population and 345 mutants from EMS treatments were identified. More number of viable mutants were recorded for EMS than gamma ray treatment in both the varieties. In variety CO 7, the total of 165 mutants were observed in the gamma ray and 251 mutants in EMS treated plants. In Tirunelveli local, the total of 83 and 94 mutants were observed for gamma ray and EMS treatment respectively. The gamma ray dose of 200 Gy and EMS dose of 10 mM recorded the highest frequency of viable morphological mutants.