EFFECT OF FAST NEUTRON IRRADIATION ON AGRONOMIC TRAITS OF THREE TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM) CULTIVARS

Authors

  • C.I Okoye
  • O.A. Falusi
  • A. Aminu
  • A. Mohammad
  • M.A.I. Audu

Keywords:

Accessions, Agronomic traits, Fast neutron Irradiation, Irradiation doses, Solanum lycopersicum

Abstract

Fast neutron irradiation (FNI) has been successfully utilized in the development of plant varieties with superior agronomic
traits. This study thus, investigated the effect of different irradiation doses on some agronomic parameters of three
selected tomato accessions (NG/MR/5/9/006, NG/AA/9/9/037 and NHGB/09/114). Exactly two hundred seeds of each
accession were exposed to FNI obtained from an Americium-Beryllium source with a flux of 1.5×104 cm-2s-1 for 30, 60,
90 and 120 minutes, equivalent to 4 rad, 8 rad, 16 rad and 24 rad, respectively. The non-irradiated seeds served as control.
The seeds were planted in experimental pots arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three
replicates. Results revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in germination percentage with control having the
significantly (p < 0.05) highest (90 %) in NG/MR/5/9/006 while NG/AA/9/9/037 and NHGB/09/114 revealed significantly (p
< 0.05) higher germination percentage of 90 % and 83 %, respectively at 4 rad. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was
observed in number of fruits per plant of NG/MR/5/9/006. A significant increase (p < 0.05) was observed in number of fruits
per plant of NG/AA/9/9/037 and NHGB/09/114 at 4 rad (2.60 ± 0.60 and 4.00 ± 1.05, respectively) and 24 rad (2.60 ± 0.51
and 4.40 ± 1.12, respectively). The significantly highest weight of fruits and number of branches at fruiting were recorded
at 90 minutes of exposure (16 rad) in all the accessions. NG/AA/9/9/037 had significantly higher number of seeds per fruit
(107.33 ± 6.67) while no significant difference was observed in number of seeds per fruit. This study revealed significant
enhancement in some growth and yield parameters of seeds exposed to fast neutron irradiation and demonstrates that
fast neutron irradiation is an excellent tool for enhancing the efficiency of breeding Solanum lycopersicum and evolving
higher yield variants through proper selection.

Additional Files

Published

31-07-2023

How to Cite

Okoye, C., Falusi, O., Aminu, A., Mohammad, A., & Audu, M. (2023). EFFECT OF FAST NEUTRON IRRADIATION ON AGRONOMIC TRAITS OF THREE TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM) CULTIVARS. NABDA JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, 2(1), 48–51. Retrieved from http://journals.nbrda.gov.ng/njbr/article/view/85

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2023): NABDA Journal of Biotechnology Research

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 C.I Okoye, O.A. Falusi, A. Aminu, A. Mohammad, M.A.I. Audu

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