Induced mutants in green gram

The seeds of RS4 variety of green gram were treated with aqueous solutions of EMS with 0⋅2% and 0⋅3% concentrations and ten mutants showing a higher number of pods than the parent were isolated in the M₂ generation. The mutants were further carried forward and tested under dryland conditions along with the parent and the highest yielding check. It was observed that the mutant strain M8 consistently maintained its superiority in yield and pod number per plant over RS4 and S8 under varying conditions of rainfall, exhibiting a combination of higher yield potential, earliness of maturity and tolerance to drought conditions. It has been suggested that variation for pod number per plant and growth pattern in green gram could be brought about by induced mutations.