ABSTRACT

The present investigation was aimed to evaluate genetic variability, assess the association among various biometrical and quality traits and compare the mutagenic effectiveness of different chemical mutagen concentrations in M2 progenies of GPM-6 horse gram. The chemical mutagens used were EMS (0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%) and SA (0.03%, 0.05%, 0.07%, 0.1%). A total of 905 M2 progenies (544 EMS treated and 361 SA treated), along with checks (GPM-6, CRIDA-18R, CRHG-4, AK-42 and Bailhongal local), were sown in an augmented block design during the kharif season of 2023-24 at the College of Agriculture, Vijayapur. The traits viz., plant height, number of pods per plant, seeds per pod and pod length showed high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as a per cent of the mean in both EMS and SA treated plants. These traits were positively associated with seed yield, highlighting their importance for selection in future breeding programs. The study also compared the mutagenic effectiveness of EMS and SA at different concentrations and results revealed that mutagenic effectiveness varied both between the two mutagens and among different concentrations. The frequency of viable mutants fluctuated, indicating a varied response of the GPM-6 horse gram population to the mutagenic treatments. SA treatments recorded the highest average mutagenic effectiveness (1.21), compared to EMS treatments (0.64), confirming that SA was more effective in producing viable mutants with fewer harmful effects and improved plant health. Additionally, seven promising mutants viz., EMS T1 2, EMS T1 55, SA T3 101, SA T3 98, SA T3 88, SA T4 58 and SA T3 97 outperformed over the check variety, GPM-6 in most evaluated traits making them suitable for further breeding efforts.