Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding

Kodomillet is a staple food grain in semi-arid regions also known for its excessive free radical quenching capacity. Due to the cleistogamous flowering pattern, recombination breeding has limited scope in this crop. This study was formulated to induce genetic variation in kodo millet by induced mutagenesis involving two varieties, ATL 1 and CKMV 1. Seeds were irradiated with five different gamma-ray doses namely., 300 Gy, 400 Gy, 500 Gy, 600 Gy and 700 Gy, respectively and LD50 was determined based on reduction in root and shoot lengths. The gamma ray dosage and root and shoot lengths were observed to be inversely proportional. Chlorophyll mutants namely., Albino, Xantha, Xantha viridis, Chlorina and Striata were observed in all treatments except 700 Gy in both the genotypes in M₁ generation. Mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency were calculated based on the frequency of chlorophyll mutations in M₁ plants. Two early maturing novel mutants from ATL 1 and three high yielding mutants from CKMV 1 at 400 Gy dose and 500 Gy dose, respectively were isolated. Mutagenic treatments were efficient in creating genetic variation for morphological traits. These mutants would be useful in improvement of kodo millet.