Response of radioactive cobalt (60Co) teletherapy on M1 plants of Capsicum chinense Jacq

Abstract

In the present investigation, the seeds of Capsicum chinense (Jacq.) were irradiated with different doses of gamma rays (0, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 Gy) using 60Co source for studying the effect of different dose of gamma rays as induced mutagen on physiological, morphological, anatomical and biochemical parameters during seed germination and seedling growth. Results revealed that, the non-irradiated seeds (Control) performed better than those of the irradiated ones for few parameters such as germination percentage, vigour index and chlorophyll content. In case of total phenolic content, leaf area index and leaf relative water content, irradiated plants showed better results. Stomata count was found maximum when the seeds were treated at a dose of 25 Gy and 50 Gy respectively.