Assessment of genetic response and character association for yield and yield components in Lentil (Lens culinarisL.) population developed through chemical mutagenesis

Genetic variation is imperative to any plant improvement program. Therefore, this study was primarily based on this aspect of inducing desirable genetic variation for enhancement of the available lentil genetic diversity. The lentil seeds were treated with methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) alone and in combination with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for inducing polygenic variation as well as determining the impact of DMSO on mutagenecity of MMS. Comparative observations were recorded for bio-physiological damages, morphological variation, and quantitative traits to assess the genetic response of the lentil cultivar L 4076 toward the different concentrations of chemicals. Significant statistics suggested that the DMSO interfere with the extent of mutagenecity of MMS in lentil which could be attributed to either synergistic action of both or variation in MMS uptake. The outcome of mutagenesis on the character association study revealed that mutagenic treatments can modify significantly the manner of association between any two traits in lentil. The moderate doses of MMS in combination with 2% DMSO showed notable diminution in the biological damages while accelerating the rate of desirable high-yielding mutants had proved to be economical. The segregate of the selected mutants in future generations will definitely contribute to the improvement of Lentil genotype.