Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Crop Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
2
Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University
3
Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig Universi
4
Agronomy department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University
10.21608/agro.2025.384009.1696
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the mutagenic effects of gamma irradiation applied in three doses (250 Gy, 350 Gy, and 450 Gy) on earliness traits, morpho-physiological characteristics, spike properties, and yield components of diverse bread wheat genotypes across the first (M1) and second (M2) mutant generations. Seeds of six wheat genotypes (Misr-2, Giza-171, Line-1, Line-3, Gemmeiza-12, and Shandweel-1) were exposed to four gamma irradiation doses. The results demonstrated that gamma irradiation at 250–450Gy caused delaying in earliness traits ranging from 0 to 14 days, depending on genotype and dose. Misr-2 exhibited the greatest delaying in heading in the M1 generation (up to 12 days at 250Gy), while Gemmeiza-12 showed 2.33-day advancement in the M2 generation under the same dose. Gamma irradiation generally promoted vegetative growth and prolonged the reproductive phases. In contrast, the grain filling period showed no significant change in M1 and was insignificantly shortened in M2. Significant genotypic variation was observed for earliness traits, with Misr-2 and Shandweel-1 being among the earliest and latest genotypes in terms of days to heading, flowering, and maturity. Gamma irradiation significantly influenced morpho-physiological traits, such as plant height, flag leaf area, chlorophyll content, and flag leaf efficiency. Gamma irradiation improved physiological characteristics associated with photosynthetic efficiency, such as increased flag leaf chlorophyll content and flag leaf efficiency, which contributed to improved grain yield performance.
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