Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources

Rajmash (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), also known as rajma, French bean, kidney bean, common bean etc. is a popular pulse crop at hills and hill valleys but not so popular in the plains. Out of the two cultivars, ‘Udai’ and ‘Malviya Rajmash 137’ released for cultivation in plains, the cultivar ‘Udai’ is not widely accepted because of its shattering of pods at maturity, variegated seed colour and low yield as compared to Malviya Rajmash 137. The pure and healthy seeds of the variety ‘Udai’ were irradiated with gamma rays (5, 10, 15, 20 and 40 kR doses), ethyl methane sulphonate (10, 20, 40, 60 and 80 mM concentrations) and their combinations (5 kR + 10 mM, 10 kR + 20 mM, 15 kR + 40 mM, 20 kR + 60 mM and 40 kR + 80 mM doses/concentrations). In the present investigation, the dose of 15 kR was found to be most efficient among the different doses of gamma rays with few exceptions. In case of the EMS, the concentration of 20 mM was found to be the best. The most efficient treatment among the combination was found to be 10 kR gamma rays + 20 mM EMS.