Seedling Injury, Pollen Sterility and Morphological Mutations Induced by Gamma-Rays and Ems in Pearl Millet

Biological damage and morphological mutations in pearl millet inbreds were studied using gamma-rays and EMS. EMS was more effective than gamma-rays in reducing germination, seedling height, seedling survival and pollen fertility. Combination treatments showed synergistic action in the case of seedling survival and pollen fertility. Albina, chlorina, xantha and viridis were recovered in M₂. The frequency of chlorophyll mutants expressed as the per cent of M₁ families segregating increased with the dose, but when expressed as per cent of M₂ plants it decreased. Lower frequency of mutations were observed in EMS than in gamma-rays which may be due to poor plant survival in the former. The inbreds differed markedly in their response to the two mutagens with respect to the parameters studied.