Ethyl Methane Sulfonate Enhances Genetic Variability in Capsicum annuum

摘要

The study was carried out to enhance the genetic variability in Capsicum annuum cultivar Longhi and to determine the optimal conditions for the induction of genetic variability by using ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS). Increase in EMS concentration resulted in gradual decrease of seed germination. The treated and untreated plants as controls were grown to observe eight different characters in M1 germination including leaf area, number of leaves, number of branches, height of plants, days to flowering, days to fruiting, number of fruits per plant and chlorophyll content. In general, the variance was increased for all the characters under study in the treated populations compared with control suggesting an increase in genetic variability . However the 0.5% concentration for 6 hrs was highly toxic and resulted in an adverse effect on germination of seed.