Annals of Biology 37 (1) : 69-75, 2021 Application of Chemical Mutagenesis for Improvement of Productivity Traits in Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) MOHAMMAD RAFIQ WANI 1 , RAFIUL AMIN LASKAR*, AAMIR RAINA 2 , SAMIULLAH KHAN AND TAJ UDDIN KHAN 3 Mutation Breeding Laboratory, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202 002 (Uttar Pradesh), India *(e-mail : rafihkd@gmail.com; Mobile : 90457 30984) (Received : September 15, 2020; Accepted : November 10, 2020) ABSTRACT Induced mutagenesis was employed to create genetic variation for various quantitative traits viz., fertile branches per plant, pods per plant and grain yield per plant in M 2 and M 3 generations of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) following mutagenesis with EMS, HZ and SA. The mean number of fertile branches, number of pods and grain yield per plant increased significantly after mutagenic treatments in M 3 generation. Analysis of variance revealed significant inter-population variability for the observed quantitative phenotypic traits in both the M 2 and M 3 generations. The estimates of genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance for yield and yield components were recorded higher in mutated population. Current study revealed that all the three chemical mutagens were most effective at 0.3% concentration in inducing desirable variations in quantitative yield traits, where mutagenic potency of EMS was found relatively higher compared to HZ and SA. Higher values of heritability and genetic advance coupled with high genotypic coefficient of variation for yield and yield attributes confirmed the possibilities of selecting more promising lentil lines with high yield potential in ensuing generations. Key words : Lentil, productivity traits, genetic variability, mutagenesis, crop improvement 1 Department of Botany, Abdul Ahad Azad Memorial Degree College (Cluster University Srinagar), Bemina- 190 018 (Jammu and Kashmir), India. 2 Botany Section, Women’s College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202 002 (Uttar Pradesh), India. 3 Department of Botany, Srikishan Sarda College, Hailakandi-788 151 (Assam), India. Presently at : Department of Botany, Bahona College, Jorhat-785 101 (Assam), India. INTRODUCTION Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) is a self-pollinated, annual diploid (2n=2x=14) grain legume with a relatively large number of genomes of 41063 Mbp (Laskar et al., 2019). It is a major legume crop cultivated in many parts of the world. In Asian sub-continent, it is generally grown on poor and marginal lands with little or no fertilizer input. Lentil forms symbiotic association with Rhizobium leguminosarum and fixes atmospheric nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation. Both microsperma and macrosperma variety of lentils are excellent source of dietary proteins (Türk, 2020). Lentils also provide high levels of dietary fibres, vitamin B 1 and the straw as valuable animal feed (Chelladurai and Erkinbaev, 2020). The cultivation of lentils augments the nutrient profile of soil by accumulating carbon, nitrogen and organic matter. Also, the high market returns of lentil guarantee the economic improvement of rural livelihood. In India, lentil occupied about 2.22 million hectares with production of 1.62 million tonnes in year 2018 (FAOSTAT, 2020). The average yield of 731 kg/ ha is low compared to world average 1038 kg/ ha and is not sufficient to meet the growing demand of the country. In order to break the yield plateau, efforts are needed to develop high yielding varieties with desired growth habit. World population is rising at an alarming rate and is anticipated to attain a figure of about seven billion by the end of 2050. On the other hand, agricultural productivity is not increasing at the required rate to keep up with the food demand. The principal reasons of threat to agricultural yield worldwide are abiotic and biotic stresses which reduce the average yield of major crops by more than 50% (Das et al., 2014). Abiotic stress factors such as salinity, drought, extreme temperature