Vegetos- An International Journal of Plant Research

Seeds of broad bean (Vicia faba L.) var. major were treated with 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1.00%, 1.25% and 1.50% concentrations of 8-Hydroxy Quinoline (8-HQ) to find out variability in seven quantitative traits viz. plant height, days to flowering, days to maturity, number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pod, number of seeds/plant and 100-seed weight. The direction of shift in mean values for plant height, days to flowering and days to maturity indicated that negative micromutations out-weighed the positive ones. While the reverse was true for pods/plant, seeds/pod, seeds/plant and 100-seed weight in lower concentrations of the mutagen while as negative trend was observed at the higher concentration. Coefficient of variation was recorded to be higher in mutagen treated populations.