Abstract

Induced mutagenesis can be used to expand variability and evolve new varieties with desirable attributes in littlemillet. In this study, two high yielding littlemillet varieties from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore were exposed to gamma rays from a 60Co source at BARC, Mumbai. The treated seeds were sown in the field along with control seeds in a Randomized Complete Block Design. Observations were taken on lodging and associated characters, including plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of nodes per culm, inter-nodal length, culm girth, and grain yield per plant. The mean of the M3 generation of different treatments was subjected to biometrical analysis.

Keywords: Induced mutagenesis, variability, littlemillet and plant height