Improvement in yield attributing traits of cumin (Cuminum cyminum) through acute exposure of gamma ray

Abstract

Cumin is an important seed spice of India and having very narrow range of genetic variability. Induced mutagenesis by gamma rays has been found to be a very useful technique for crop improvement. Therefore, a study was undertaken to know the effect of gamma rays in cumin cv. RZ- 209 to create genetic variability for essential traits. Dry seeds were exposed to different doses of gamma radiations using 60Co as the radiation source at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai. The irradiated seeds along with control were kept for germination in petri dishes and also sown in the field. It was recorded that increased doses reduced the seed germination and survival of seedlings. The 48.4% survival of seedlings was recorded at the dose of 200Gy. This dose of gamma ray caused near about 50% reduction in root length, shoot length, seedling length and vigour index. The days to first flowering and days taken for fruiting to maturity was delayed as the doses were increased. The gamma rays dose 200Gy significantly increased the numbers of umbels per plant, 1000 seed weight (3.97g) and seed yield per plant (1.67g) over control.