1Department of Botany, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun-248 001, Uttarakhand, India
*Corresponding Author: Maneesha Singh, Department of Botany, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun-248 001, Uttarakhand, India, Email: singhmaneesha2@gmail.com
Echinochloa frumentacea (Barnyard millet) is a nutritionally important millet crop with limited genetic variability for crop improvement. The present study aimed to induce genetic variability through Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis and develop stable early-maturing mutants in the PRJ-1 variety.
Seeds of PRJ-1 were treated with EMS at 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1.4% concentrations and evaluated across M1, M2 and M3 generations under a randomized block design with three replications during 2022-2025 at Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Growth, germination and yield-related traits were recorded and analysed statistically.
EMS treatments induced significant variability among the studied traits. The 0.6% EMS treatment recorded the highest germination (95.33%), root length (22.07 cm), shoot length (72.67 cm) and plant height (79.33 cm), showing significant improvement over the control (p<0.05). Higher EMS concentrations (0.8% and 1.4%) adversely affected germination and growth, indicating mutagenic toxicity. A stable early-maturing mutant line was identified in the M3 generation, exhibiting flowering initiation at 40-45 days after sowing (DAS) and physiological maturity at approximately 65 DAS compared with 90-100 days in the control.
Barnyard millet, Early maturity, Echinochloa frumentacea, EMS mutagenesis, Mutation breeding
