~ 1346 ~ ISSN Print: 2617-4693 ISSN Online: 2617-4707 NAAS Rating (2025): 5.29 IJABR 2025; SP-9(8): 1346-1352 www.biochemjournal.com Received: 02-06-2025 Accepted: 08-07-2025 Bhadange NP M.Sc. Scholars, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India Dethe AM Associate Professors, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India Kalpande HV Head, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India More AW Associate Professors, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India Deshmukh JD Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India Kakde VG M.Sc. Scholars, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India Corresponding Author: Dethe AM Associate Professors, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India Genetic variability studies in M 4 generation of mutagenized population of yellow pericarp sorghum for yield and yield contributing traits (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Bhadange NP, Dethe AM, Kalpande HV, More AW, Deshmukh JD and Kakde VG DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33545/26174693.2025.v9.i8Ss.5355 Abstract The experiment comprised of 30 yellow pericarp sorghum mutants of M4 generation derived from selfed seed of individual panicles of M3 generation from each gamma irradiation-treatment i.e. 6 mutants from each treatment viz., 100 Gy, 200 Gy, 300 Gy, 400 Gy and 500 Gy along with a parental control ‘Udgir Piwali’ and 3 checks, was conducted at Parbhani (M.S.) during rabi, 2024-25 towards understanding the extent of variability, heritability and genetic advance for yield and its associated traits. The analysis of variance indicated significant differences among the mutants for all the traits examined. Results indicated relatively higher mean performance in checks for most of the characters studied including grain production. The GCV and PCV estimates showed wide variation for most of the characters studied in segregating M4 generation. High heritability, medium GCV, PCV and GA were observed for grain yield per plant and its most of the component-traits. Among the fourteen characters evaluated, several yellow sorghum mutant genotypes namely, 100Gy-4, 200Gy-3, 200Gy-2, 300Gy-5, 300Gy-6, 400Gy-1, 400Gy-2 and 500Gy-6; consistently exhibited superior performance over multiple agromorphological traits. In addition, mutants viz., 300Gy-5, 200Gy-1, 200Gy-6, 400Gy-2, 400Gy-3 and 200Gy-5 demonstrated specific promise for drought tolerance-related physiological attributes. Such genotypes can be effectively utilized as potential donor parents in empirical breeding programs aimed at developing improved yellow pericarp sorghum varieties or hybrids with better nutritional and agronomical potential. Keywords: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, mutants, yellow pericarp, heritability, variability, genetic advance Introduction Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) is cultivated predominantly in USA, China, India and Africa for both human and livestock consumption. Sorghum is cultivated over 42 million ha with an annual production of 62 thousand metric tonnes of grain with a productivity of 1435 kg/ha. In India, Sorghum is cultivated over of 4.11 million ha with an annual production of 4.70 million tonnes of grain. Top sorghum producing states are Maharashtra which contributes 49.14% of area and 47% production, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (Anonymous, 2025). The industrial demand for the grain sorghum as a raw material has been increasing. In recent years, due to climate change the length of rainy season and the corresponding growing season have reduced. In this scenario, water deficit leads to a shift in cropping pattern towards drought tolerant food crops which is unavoidable. When compared to other crops, low productivity is the main issue with grain sorghum production. The composition of sorghum grains includes proteins (11.6%), minerals (1.6%), fibers (1.6%), starch (72.6%) and other vital nutrients, such as pyridoxine, niacin and riboflavin. Among cereals, yellow pericarp sorghum contains high levels of carotenoids, specifically lutein and zeaxanthin that are important for eye health and prevention of macular degeneration with high antioxidant-property. Further, low rainfall and marginal soils are ideal growing conditions for yellow pericarp sorghum cultivars. Which serves as a source of carbohydrates and animal feed. International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research 2025; SP-9(8): 1346-1352