Journal of Food Legumes

Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam) Verdec.) is highly proteinaceous important food legume crop belongs to family Fabaceae. Conventional breeding methods are not useful in enhancing production of horse gram because of low genetic variability. Due to limited genetic diversity and unavailability of good varieties, it is susceptible to several diseases and pests. Induced mutations for various characters using physical and chemical mutagens haven been widely used for induction of mutations in horse gram. Mutagens such as gamma radiations, ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS) and sodium azide (SA) were employed to induce genetic variability in different horse gram cultivars. Different kind of mutations viz., chlorophyll mutations, plant growth habit, pod mutations (small pod, early and tall), seed mutations, maturity mutations (early and late) and yield characteristics were observed in M₂ and M₃ generations. However, a limited number of efforts have been directed towards understanding quality attributes and resistance to diseases and pests. Mutagenesis if combined with genomic technology may provide powerful tool for the discovery of novel gene alleles underlying several agronomically important traits in this unexploited crop. The present review article will provide information about the use of mutation breeding in genetic improvement of horse gram.