Developmental morphology of induced semidwarf and stunted mutants in lentil

Study on the developmental morphology of two true breeding dwarf mutants in lentil revealed that reduction in both internode length and number were responsible for their short stature. The stunted mutant, with marked reduction in the number of leaves and pods per plant, length of pod bearing zone, biological and seed yield, was only 1/4 of the parent variety Pant L-639. The stunted charader is also associated with late flowering. However, pod size, seed size and weight, and harvest index increased in the mutant. The semidwarf mutant also had reduced number of primary branches, pods/plant, biological and seed yield besides plant height. The difference in height of the semidwarf mutant and parent variety becomes noticeable only after 40 days of crop growth. Seed protein content was high in stunted (26.2%) as well as semidwarf (24.7%) mutants than the parent variety (23.1%).