Studies on effect of seed priming and induced mutagenesis in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.)
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Date
2021
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Department of Horticulture (Olericulture), BAU, Sabour
Abstract
Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) prefers warm season for its growth and development. It is a viny vegetable crop comes under cucurbitaceae family. Crop having the diploid chromosome number of 2n=2x=22. It is locally called as karela, bitter cucumber, bitter melon and balsam pear. Reports said to be Momordica charantia var. abbreviata is the probable ancestor of cultivated bitter gourd. It is monoecious in nature and native to South Asia. Characteristic bitter taste in the fruit was due to the bitter principle – Momordicin. Antidiabetic property of fruits is due to the presence of ‘Cheratin – cucurbitacin alkaloids’. Bitter gourd seed is having hard seed coat. So it needs pre-sowing treatment/seed priming as it reduces the germination time, enhances the seedling emergence, germination percentage (%) and uniformity under normal as well as adverse climatic conditions. Among various seed priming treatments evaluated viz., hydro priming, Osmo priming, Halo priming and Hormonal treatments, the seeds treated with 500 ppm of GA3 gives the good results in terms of seed quality as well as yield parameters. It also came to know that increased soaking duration in water enhanced the seed germination, vigour index-I & II. It might have due to imbibition of water by bitter gourd seed which leading to enzyme activation, translocation, and utilization of reserved food materials. In case of osmo priming, increased concentration of PEG decreases the field performance of bitter gourd. It might have due to the induction of heavy osmotic stresses in the bitter gourd seeds leads to disruption of the sprouting processes. Whereas increased concentration of KNO3 enhanced the field performance of bitter gourd. It may be due to the metabolic changes, such as repair of DNA and increases in the biosynthesis of RNA, and enhancement in the respiration process of seed, higher activities of total soluble sugars and phenolics under favourable climatic conditions. Induced mutagenesis was a method for speeding up the way toward creating various attributes for selection, like disease resistance, tolerance to abiotic stresses, and other attractive agronomic qualities whereas older breeding methods takes longer time to develop new genotypes. Based on germination percentage and survival plant population of treated material the LD50 dose of EMS and Gamma rays were 0.2% and 0.25 kGy, respectively. The increase in the treatment dose of EMS and Gamma rays, noticed a reduction in germination and survival percentage. In M2 generation, Based on fruit length, two putative mutant plants were selected viz., T5 P36 – P3 (30 – 35 cm) and T2 P2 – P1 (24 -29 cm), based on fruit colour, three putative mutant plants were selected viz., T5 P10 – P9 (Dark green), T2 P2 – P4 (White) and T7 P4 – P8 (White) and based on tubercle arrangement, two putative mutant plants were selected viz., T5 P26 – P1 (One line of irregular blunt tubercles was alternated with continuous ridge) and T5 P72 – P3 (One line of irregular blunt tubercles was alternated of discontinuous ridge). Selfed seeds of selected plants were collected raise the M3 generation to check the yield performance. In M3 generation, based on yield, Plant 3 of T2P2 – P1, Plant 1 of T2P2 – P4, Plant 11 of T5P26 – P1, Plant 2 of T5P36 – P3, Plant 26 of T5P72 – P3, and plant 1 of T7P2 – P4 were selected and selfed seeds of selected plants were collected for replicated trials of M4 generation. From this investigation it was concluded that, among various seed priming treatments evaluated, GA3 @ 500 ppm for 18 h soaking duration best to improve the field performance of bitter gourd. From the induced mutagenesis experiment, it was concluded that, an increase in the concentration of mutagen (chemical and physical) increases the lethality. Similarly, mutagenic effectiveness, mutagenic efficiency and mutation rate was higher in gamma (γ) rays compared to ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS).