Gamma rays and ethyl methanesulfonate applied to lentil cultivars

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of gamma radiation and ethyl methanesulfonate application to four lentil cultivars (Firat-87, Koc-21, Tigris, and Sakar) under both growth chamber and field conditions. One thousand seeds from each cultivar were subjected to gamma radiation doses of 100, 200, and 300 Gy and to ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) concentrations of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 mmol L^-1. Fifty seed from each cultivar were used to record seedling traits; and the remaining seed were sown as M1 generation in the field. For all cultivars, gamma radiation and EMS concentrations showed significant effects on seedling length, seedling fresh weight, seedling dry weight, and root dry weight. The median growth reduction varied from 278.5 to 337.3 Gy for gamma radiation, and from 49.03 to 86.029 mmol L^-1 for EMS. In the field experiments, plant height, first pod height, number of flowers, pods, and seed per plant were investigated in the M1 generation. All gamma radiation doses, especially 300 Gy, caused a reduction in the evaluated traits in every cultivar. Regarding EMS, concentrations higher than 40 mmol L^-1 caused a reduction in all analyzed traits in every cultivar, except in Tigris. Therefore, the Tigris lentil cultivar shows potential for mutant selection for high-yield and yield traits.