Enhancing Agro Morphological Traits of three Unique Traditional Rice Landraces of Chhattisgarh through Gamma Ray-Irradiation
Antra Thada *
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India and Radiation Biology and Health Sciences Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.
Parmeshwar K. Sahu
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India.
Samrath Baghel
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India.
Ravi Raj Singh Patel
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India.
Ishu Kumar Khute
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India.
Prabha Rani Chaudhary
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India.
Maumita Burman
Rice Germplasm Section, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India.
B.K. Das
Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 400085, India and Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India.
Deepak Sharma
Radiation Biology and Health Sciences Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India and Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India.
Anand Ballal
Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 400085, India.
Deepak Sharma
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, 492012, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Mutation breeding is a simple and effective technique for generating genetic variation within crops. Mutagens such as Gamma radiation induce changes in their DNA that could lead to the development of new traits, such as improved yield or disease resistance. In the present study, Gamma ray mutagenesis was performed on three traditional rice varieties (Gudma dhan, Dawar dhan, and Lohandi dhan) to identify potentially beneficial mutants with desirable agro-morphological agricultural characteristics. The major constraints to address were their tall statures and weak culms, fewer panicles and tillers, and late maturity. Using a fixed dose of 300 Gy, 35 mutants were identified in Dawar dhan, 33 in Gudma dhan, and 21 in Lohandi dhan. The selected mutants showed an average reduction in plant height that ranged from 42.69% to 33.11%, as compared to their respective landraces. Also, a substantial reduction (ranging from 3.08%-10.55%) in days to 50% flowering was observed. Importantly, these mutants showed an increase in yield of 38.11% (Dawar dhan), 32.63% (Gudma dhan), and 7.0% (Lohandi dhan). These findings demonstrate the utility of mutation breeding through Gamma radiation in alleviating the key constraints inherent to traditional rice landraces.
Keywords: Rice landraces, gamma ray, screening, potential mutants, advancement