Development of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Populations for Drought Tolerance and Improved Biomass Allocation Through Ethyl Methanesulphonate Mutagenesis

The narrow genetic variation for drought adaptive traits and biomass allocation in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) presents a major bottleneck for breeding. Induced mutagenesis creates genetic variation and complements conventional breeding for drought tolerance improvement. The aims of this study were to induce mutations in wheat genotype LM43 using three ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) treatments, and to develop mutant populations for improving drought tolerance, biomass allocation and agronomic performance. Experiments were conducted under controlled and field conditions at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Data on percentage germination (%G), days to 90% maturity (DTM), plant height (PH), shoot biomass (SB), root biomass (RB), root-shoot ratio (RSR), spike length (SL), spikelet count (SPS), thousand seed weight (TSW), and grain yield (GY) were collected from M1 to M4 generations. Significant (p < 0.001) differences among individuals and generations were observed for all the assessed traits and the generation × population interaction effects were significant (p < 0.01) for SB, TSW, and GY due to EMS treatments. The differences among the generations showed that the mutagenic effects were cumulative and exhibited clear segregations in subsequent generations. The new selections with unique biomass allocation, drought response and agronomic performance will be useful for wheat improvement programs.

Pengaruh perlakuan ethyl methanesulphonate terhadap perkecambahan dan pertumbuhan kentang granola (biji)

Sari. Tujuan penelitian adalah mengevaluasi pengaruh ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) terhadap pertumbuhan tanaman kentang Granola dari biji botani dan memperoleh konsentrasi efektif untuk mendapatkan mutan berdaya hasil tinggi. Percobaan dilakukan dalam dua tahap. Tahap pertama dilakukan di laboratorium kultur jaringan BALITSA, Lembang, yang terdiri dari tahap perlakuan EMS pada biji dengan konsentrasi 0,01%; 0,03%; 0,05%; 0,07%; 0,10%; 0,13%; 0,15%; 0,17%; dan 0,20%; selama 3 dan 6 jam, penanaman biji pada media kultur MS, perbanyakan planlet dan pengamatan planlet. Tahap kedua dilakukan di rumah kasa di Pangalengan yang terdiri dari tahapan aklimatisasi menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok dengan 14 perlakuan EMS yang diulang 3 kali dan pengamatan pertumbuhan tanaman. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa EMS menyebabkan penurunan pada daya kecambah. Pengamatan pertumbuhan di rumah kasa menunjukkan tinggi tanaman, jumlah daun, indeks kandungan klorofil, dan berat ubi pertanaman hasil perlakuan memiliki hasil yang lebih rendah dibandingkan kontrol. Konsentrasi EMS 0,07% dengan perendaman 3 jam dan konsentrasi 0,01% dengan perendaman 6 jam menghasilkan genotipe 3D12 dan 6A8 yang memiliki hasil panen tinggi. Kata kunci: kentang, EMS, mutasi, pertumbuhan. Abstract. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) on true potato seed germination and growth of potato Granola also obtained effective concentrations of EMS to produce mutants with high yield. Experiment was conducted in two stages. The first stage was carried out in BALITSA tissue culture laboratory, Lembang which consisted of EMS treatment steps in seeds with concentrations of 0.01%, 0.03%, 0.05%, 0.07%, 0.10%, 0.13%, 0.15%, 0.17%, and 0.20% for 3 and 6 hour; seeds planting on MS culture media; planlet propagation and plantlets observations. The second stage was carried out in screen house in Pangalengan which consisted of acclimatization stages using a randomized block design with 14 EMS treatment repeated 3 times and observations of plant growth, and yield. The results showed that EMS caused a decrease in germination. Growth observation results at screen house showed plant height, number of leaves, chlorophyll content index, and weight of tubers from treatment had lower than controls. Treatment with 0.07% EMS concentration for 3 hours and 0.01% consentration for 6 hours produced 3D12 and 6A8 mutan genotypes which had high yields. Keywords: potato, EMS, mutation, growth.