LAUSR

Groundnut is one of the primary economic crops of the world, which has been exposed extensively to mutagenic treatments for induction of variability. The present research was aimed towards yield improvement in two groundnut cultivars (GPBD-4 and TPG-41) through induced mutagenesis using EMS and gamma rays. One hundred true breeding mutants were isolated at M3 and were evaluated for yield at M4/M5. Thirteen superior mutants showing consistent performance across the generations were further evaluated for economic traits at M6. Greater magnitude of induced variability was found for number of pods per plant (13.65-52.65; 11.83-34.62), pod yield per plant (10.40-49.71; 16.40-41.28) and 100 seed weight (30.18-52.20 g; 37.36-87.65) in GPBD-4 and TPG-41 mutant populations respectively in M4 generation. Mutants G2-214 (34.51 Q/ha) and TE-147 (31.75 Q/ha) recorded 27.53 and 31.75 per cent increase in pod yield over the respective parents GPBD-4 (27.06 Q/ha) and TPG-41 (23.80 Q/ha). Most of the superior mutants were associated with increased 100-seed weight. The high yielding mutants identified in the present study have the dual advantages i.e. desirable agronomic characters and favorable oil chemistry. In this direction mutant G2-214 which recorded highest pod yield (34.51 Q/ha) was also accompanied with increased O/L ratio (3.23) over parent GPBD-4 (1.76)