MUTAGENIC STUDIES IN PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA L.)

Mutation is one of the methods used for creating variability in plants. Among the several mutagenic agents, chemical mutagens are getting importance due to their effectiveness and ease in usage. An experiment was carried out to induce variability within the cultivar ‘Surya’ by chemical mutagen ‘Ethyl Methane Sulphonate’ (EMS), so that useful mutagens if any could be further selected and made use of. The variety ‘Surya’ is an advanced generation gynodioecious hybrid from the cross Sunrise Solo×Pink Flesh producing medium sized sweet fruits. The seeds of the variety ‘Surya’ extracted freshly from ripe fruits after controlled pollination were treated with EMS at 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% concentrations. The germination was recorded until after all the seeds emerged. The treatment control recorded maximum germination percentage. Among the other treatments maximum percentage of germination was recorded at 0.1% concentration. Significant differences were recorded among the treatments for plant height, stem girth and number of leaves in the progenies. The LD50 was observed at 0.5% concentration.