Crumpled Petal Mutants in Black Gram and Cowpea

Dry seeds of black gram and cowpea were treated with various doses of X-rays and ethylmethanesulfonate, singly or in combination. Plants having flowers with protruded stigmas were isolated in M₂ and have been designated as crumpled-petal mutants. In both the cases the anthers and petals did not stretch out fully and the flowers seldom bloomed. The pistil was normal but as the anthers were enclosed in the petals, self fertilization was restricted. Very few pods were produced with reduced seed set. From the reciprocal corsses, it was concluded that both the mutants were monogeneic recessive to their respective normals and the gene symbol Crpt/crpt has been proposed for this allelic pair. The significance of these mutants in evolution and in hybridization are discussed.