Vol. 11, Issue 3 (2022)

Author(s):
Jyothsna J, Dr. Reena Nair, Dr. SK Pandey and Dr. AK Mehta

Abstract:
The fenugreek, being an in breeder is short of genetic variability due to which the scope for improvement is also narrowed down. The induced mutagenesis is one of the effective ways to generate genetic variability in the crop. The alkylating agent, Ethylene Methyl Sulphonate (EMS) is the most common chemical mutagen used in mutagenesis. Since the overdose of mutagen would kill the seedlings while the under-dose would be insignificant, the assessment of semi-lethal dose (LD₅₀) is highly essential to initiate a mutation breeding work on any crop. Since there is no information on the semi-lethal dose of EMS in fenugreek, the experiment was set up to assess the same. Through this investigation, it was found that the semi-lethal dose of EMS for fenugreek cv. RMt-1 be EMS 0.30 per cent at eight hours. A steady decrease in the germination, growth and vigor of the seedlings was observed as the dose of the mutagen increased. The information generated through this investigation would facilitate further mutagenesis-related research in fenugreek.