Vol. 12, Issue 9 (2023)

Author(s):
Poonam Nawalkar and Sunil Kumar Verma

Abstract:
In Africa's tropical and subtropical climes, the cowpea is especially important since it can fix atmospheric nitrogen in addition to giving residents a source of protein. While many crop species have exploited forced mutation successfully, legumes like cowpeas have had the least success. The effects of colchicine on cowpeas were investigated. The study investigated the effects of colchicine treatment on the germination of cowpea seeds as well as the morphology and a few particular growth traits of cowpea plants (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp). Dry cowpea seeds were treated with colchicine in concentrations of 0.02, 0.04, and 0.05 percent. Quantitative parameters such the percentage of germination, plant height, number of leaves, length of longest branches, main branch count, pod and seed production. The percentage of germination was high in the control (89.3) and the colchicine-treated group (0.04%, 90.2). In some of the colchicine treatments in the study, significant variations (p<0.05) were noted in the mean of the majority of the quantitative features, including the number of leaves, branches, and seeds per plant.