Gamma Radio Sensitivity Study on Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

In present investigation, four popular groundnut varieties cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, were examined for differences in radio sensitivity to gamma radiation. Dry seeds of groundnut varieties Greeshma, Anantha, Kadiri-6 and Kadiri-9 were exposed to gamma radiation ranging from 0.50 to 3.00 kGy using continuous gamma sterilization plant (GC 5000), at Quality Control Laboratory, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030 to determine their response to radiation stress and the effective radiation dose for identification of Lethal dose 50 (LD₅₀). The results indicated that increasing doses of gamma irradiation had significant effect on germination for the first seven days under laboratory conditions in all the varieties. The LD₅₀ values determined from linear regression analysis (Polynomial fit using Origin Pro 8 software) based on germination % were ranged from 2.13 kGy (Kadiri-6) to 2.47 kGy(Kadiri-9). These ranges of LD₅₀ values determined for the different groundnut varieties could be useful in groundnut varietal improvement programmes.