Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Yield Attributing Characters in Two Varieties of Pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Seeds of two varieties of Pisum sativum, P. sativum var. hortense (garden pea) and var. arvense (field pea) were subjected to different doses of gamma irradiation to evaluate the effect on yield attributing characters. The effect of mutagen was studied with regard to percent germination, plant height, maturation period, number of branches, and number of flowers per plant, number of pods per plant, pod size, number of seeds per pod and per plant, weight of 100 dried seeds, and number of seeds per 100 grm. Data recorded from the population raised exhibited significant variability in different characters. Most of the physiological parameters viz. percent germination, maturation period and number of flowers showed dose dependent decrease in irradiated plants. Lower doses of gamma irradiation had stimulatory effect on yield attributing parameters such as number o f pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, and pod size, in both the varieties. P. sativum var. arvense (leafy) was found to be high yielding than var. hortense (leafless) and the genotype of first variety was observed to be more sensitive to gamma irradiation than the latter.