II.31 An early dwarf mutant induced in Hordeum vulgare var. 'Amber' with gamma-ray at low seed moisture level.
Jagdamba Singh and Rishi Muni Singh. Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005 (India).
As induced mutations are considered ideal for augmenting natural variation in germ plasm and as an alternative to hybridization and recombination in plant breeding, the seeds of barley var. 'Amber' were irradiated with Co60 gamma-ray at 3.5 percent seed moisture content. Selection for early flowering and short stature in the M2 generation led to the establishment of a true breeding early dwarf mutant B 10-E in M3 generation. The data on some quantitative characters of the induced early dwarf mutant along with mother variety are presented in the table given below.
Table - Data on quantitative characters of induced early dwarf mutant and mother variety.
It is apparent from the data that mutant B 10-E is 35 days earlier and 50 cm shorter than the mother variety 'Amber'.
The simultaneous induction of two desirable characters such as earliness and short straw in this mutant is of real value. This early dwarf mutant should be suitable breeding material to incorporate earliness and dwarfness in the existing late, tall promising varieties of barley. Preliminary inheritance studies indicate that earliness is governed by a single pair of recessive alleles.
