In Vitro Induction of Mutation in Carnation Through Gamma Irradiation

In vitro effect of 5, 10, 20, 30 40 and 50 Gy gamma rays was studied in carnation cv. Espana. In general, pronounced effect was observed on vegetative and floral characters with increase in treatment doses. Enhanced effect on various vegetative and floral characters was observed at lower doses while higher doses of 10 Gy and above significantly reduced these parameters. The untreated explants gave maximum rooting (99.27%) of microshoots in vitro and survival of plantlets ex vitro, length of internode, plant height, flowering shoot length and flower size. Gamma irradiation with 30 Gy and above induced flower colour variations. Dark pink mutant was induced at SO Gy with a frequency of 4.44 percent. Dark pink mutant with red patches was also found with 30 and 40 Gy doses and had mutation frequency of 1.79 and 3.94 percent, respectively.