Concentration Of Ethyl Methane Sulphonate Research Articles

Enigmatic Phenomenon of Secondary Association among Bivalents in Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.)

Cytogenetical assessment of pollen mother cells of Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.) in response to treatment of chemical mutagen was done. Ethyl Methane Sulphonate (EMS) revealed possession of an enigmatic behaviour among chromosomal bivalents i.e. formation of secondary association. Chromosomes exhibited a unique tendency of getting associated in close proximity and form discrete pairs. The phenomenon of secondary chromosomal association has been ascribed to the existence of similar cohesive homology or malfunctioning in chiasma formation among the associating bivalents. The association of bivalents was witnessed to be executed in either end to end fashion or sideways association. Various other chromosomal abnormalities were found, but secondary association was the preponderant abnormality which exhibited a continuous increase in its magnitude with increase in EMS concentration. Along with secondary associations, stickiness of chromosomes at anaphase was observed in considerable frequency. A significant influence of chromosomal association on the post meiotic product was also experienced, which in turn, led to influence the meiotic index. Abnormal sporads in the form of triads, dyads, monads and polyads, alongwith normal tetrad were seen. Pollen fertility percent was seen to decline from control to the highest concentration of EMS due to anomalies of preceding stages.

Development and screening of mutants from Monascus sanguineus for secondary metabolites production

Present study was carried out to develop a potent mutant for enhancing secondary metabolite production from Monascus sanguineus. Ultraviolet (UV) treatment as physical and Ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) as chemical mutagen was used to cultivate the mutants. All obtained mutants were screened for growth and pigment yield on three different synthetic media namely; potato dextrose agar (PDA), malt glucose peptone agar (MGPA) and Czapek Dox yeast extract Agar (CDYA). MGPA media was found suitable for pigment yield whereas appreciable growth was observed with CDYA. Highest pigment yield was obtained for mutants developed at EMS concentration of 0.6 μg/μL (EMS-3) and UV exposed for seven minutes (UV-4). Exposure to UV for 11 min suppressed the pigment production. However this exposed strain (albino) was found to be an efficient producer of lovastatin with no traces of citrinin alike parental strain. Both EMS-3 and UV-4 mutants had synthesized negligible amount of citrinin, well below regulatory toxic levels. Significant variation was also noticed on the spore morphology of tested strains. Aleuroconidia was observed with albino strain whereas clestothesium along with pigmented ascospores were noticed with UV-4 and EMS-3 mutants. In a nutshell, these strains can be endorsed as nontoxic and safe for human consumption.

Frequency of mutation, lethality and efficiency of ethyl methane sulphonate and sodium azide on foxtail millet (Setaria italica [L.] P. Beauv.)

This study was carried out to determine the frequency of lethality, Mutagenic frequency, effectiveness and efficiency induced by ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) and sodium azide on foxtail millet. The seeds were treated with different concentrations of EMS and sodium azide. Number of morphological mutant were observed visually and recorded. Mutagenic frequency, effectiveness and efficiency were highest for EMS at 0.1% concentration (Mutagenic frequency 7.50% effectiveness 18.75% and efficiency 7.50%) and sodium azide at 0.2% concentration (Mutagenic frequency 7.00%, effectiveness 1.84% and efficiency 1%). Lower concentrations of EMS and sodium azide were more effective and efficient in inducing mutation with low biological damages and high mutation frequency. EMS was more effective and efficient in inducing variability in foxtail millet than sodium azide. Therefore, mutants foxtail millet with low biological damages and high mutation frequency can be developed at low concentration of EMS and sodium azide for breeding of foxtail millet.

Analysis of induced genetic variability for morphological and floral characters with male sterility in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Male sterility can be useful to obtain high yielding sesame hybrids with reduced cost and labour. It can be induced artificially into the released cultivars by using chemical mutagens. Hence the present study was undertaken to induce male sterility in a released sesame genotype cv. B 67 by three different concentrations of Ethyl methane sulphonate (0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75% ) and Nitroso-guanidine (0.01%, 0.02% and 0.04%). The treated seeds were sown to obtain M1 generation of mutants. This population was further advanced by progeny row method to M4 generation where thirty five stable mutants along with parent were screened for abnormal phenotypic and floral characters. The observation indicated generation of large variability for seven morphological characters and five floral characters among the mutants while male sterility could be achieved only up to 56.79%. These male sterile plants were characterized by low plant height, polypetalous and irregular or cleistogamous flowers. The present study implies that the above chemical mutagens can be used to develop useful male sterile mutants in sesame.

Effect of mutagen-ethyl methane sulphonate on yield increasing parameters of French bean (Phaseolus vulgarisl.)

The present investigation was undertaken at the Vegetable Research Farm, Department of Vegetable Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, INDIA during spring season of 2015 and 2016 with objective to induce genetic variability for yield and quality traits in cultivars ?Contender? and ?Arka Komal? through chemical mutagen- ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) at 0.15, 0.25 and 0.35%. Seed treatment with all the EMS concentration drastically reduced its germination but the germination per cent decreased with increase in concentration of EMS. The per cent seed germination was maximum (90%) in control ?Contender? whereas it was 74%, 49% and 42% in EMS at 0.15%, 0.25% and 0.35%, respectively. Similar trend of results for germination percentage were obtained in cultivar ?Arka Komal? after treatment with different concentrations of EMS, however germination percentage of ?Arka Komal? was lower than of ?Contender?. The germination percentage trends of EMS treated French bean cultivars were comparable under field and laboratory conditions but somewhat less under field due to less favourable conditions. All the plants harvested in M1 generation in both cultivars were sown in plant to progeny fashion along with parents. Several desirable plants were selected in M2 generation for early flowering, number of pods per plant, pod length and bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) resistance in both the cultivars at different concentrations of EMS. Selection was also performed for straight pods in case of genotype 'Contender'. The maximum frequency of desirable mutants was observed in lower EMS concentration (0.15%). The 0.15% EMS increased number of pods per plant which may be directly related to yield per plant and it will ultimately increase the total yield. Therefore, EMS concentration at 0.15% can be effectively used for inducing maximum variability in French bean. The mutant population developed in M2 generation can be further used to check its performance in next generations.

A Simple Novel Expedited Spike Culture-derived Variation Creation Strategy in Wheat

A wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) immature spike culture system was used to expeditiously generate mutations for use in wheat improvement programs. Wheat immature spikes in culture were treated with three concentrations of ethylmethane sulphonate (EMS) to generate a spike culture derived variant (SCDV) population. EMS in a concentration dependent manner affected seed development in wheat immature spike cultures. Based on the number of seeds produced, inclusion of EMS (25 mM) for three hours in immature spike culture medium generated variants in wheat cv. AC Nanda. The wheat AC Nanda SCDV population showed variation in several phenotypic characters. Flag leaf (length, angle and sheath length), length of first and second internode, spike length, number of spikes, number of seeds per spike and seed weight, showed variation below and above the non-treated controls. A molecular screening technique combining simple sequence repeat (SSR) oligonucleotide primers with high resolution melt (HRM) PCR with EvaGreen was used to identify the variants. Screening for starch branching enzyme IIb (SbeIIb) revealed 75 lines with point mutations. Combining SSR and SbeIIb, a total of 100 Kbp portion of wheat DNA was screened. The estimated mutation frequency in SbeIIb was one per 20.8 Kbp. The spike culture system utilizes very small amounts of EMS for a brief period, thus needs minimal handling of EMS and saves one generation of plant growth in a greenhouse. The morphological variants observed are similar to those reported for seed-derived variants using EMS.

Gamma rays and EMS induced Flower Color Mutation in Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus Linn.)

To induce flower color mutants in Grasspea ( Lathyrus sativus Linn.) variety “Pusa-24“, the fresh seeds were exposed to 4 different doses of gamma radiation as physical mutagens (100, 200, 300 and 400 Gy) and treated with 4 different concentration of Ethyl Methanesulphonate as chemical mutagen (5, 10, 15 and 20 mM ) and also combination of both mutagens. Due to mutagenesis broad range of flower color mutants in M 2 , M 3 and M 4 were obtained. Various unique and different flower color mutations like pink, purple, white and yellow detected against blue which is natural color in control progenies. Maximum flower color frequency was recorded in EMS treated seeds (20 mM) in 4th generation and lowest mutation frequency in 2nd generation was obtained in gamma rays (100 Gy) treated seeds. The results showed more flower color mutations happened in more dose /concentration of mutagens in every generation

RAPD Profile Of Winged-Bean [Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.)DC] Mutated Using Ethyl-Methane Sulphonate

Genetic diversity of winged-bean [ Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC] can be produced by induced mutation with EMS (ethyl-methane sulphonate). To identify the genetic diversity after EMS application on winged-bean, molecular analysis using RAPD (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA) technique was carried out. This study aims to identify RAPD profile of winged-bean after EMS application. Winged-bean seeds of both long and short pod types were soaked in wet paper towels for 6 hours followed by soaking in EMS of 0.3% and 0.5% for 4 hours. Winged-bean seeds of both pod types without EMS served as control. Ten of the 30 primers operon technologies USA and 2 primers bangalore genei showed sufficiently clear bands (OPA 1, OPA 3, OPA 10, OPA 15, OPA 19, OPB 1, OPB 6, OPB 7, ES10C27, and ES10C28). All the ten primers produced polymorphic fragments with a total number of 320 and size ranging from 100 bp to 2,000 bp. As many as 66 loci were observed. The polymorphism values obtained ranged from 16.67% to 46.97%. This low polymorphism values indicate that EMS concentrations applied have not resulted in sufficiently high genetic variation. At the same time, the genetic distance observed were only 0.11 to 0.41.

Sensitivitas dan Keragaan Tanaman Coleus sp. terhadap Mutasi Induksi Kimia Menggunakan Ethyl Methane Sulfonate (EMS) Aplikasi Cara Rendam dan Tetes

Variant of Coleus sp. in Indonesia is very low. Induced mutation by Ethyl Methane Sulphonate (EMS) is able to increase variant of Coleus sp.. EMS is a mutagen that is effective and efficient in causing mutations. In mutation breeding, the high variant usually occurs around LC50 (Lethal Concentration). The objective of this study were (1) to obtain the LC50 value and sensivity of coleus plants, and (2) to evaluate the response of plant growth and to obtain new variance of coleus used soak and drops by EMS application. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications in each coleus. The materials used two Coleus sp. shoot cuttings i.e., C. amboinicus Lour. and C. blumei the purple/green color and the red. The concentration of EMS consisted of 0.00, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.25% with application soak method (100 minutes) and drops (3 drops pipette). The results showed that the LC50 value of C. amboinicus Lour. 5.86% (soak). The LC50 value of C. blumei the purple/green color was 0.69% (soak), 0.82% (drops) and the red color 0.29% (drops), 0.89% (drops). C. blumei (the purple/green and red) was higher sensitivity rather than C. amboinicus Lour. There was an interaction between treatments on C. amboinicus Lour. whereas C. blumei (purple/green and red) had no interaction among treatments. C. amboinicus Lour. produced one putative mutant and C. blumei purple/green produced four putative mutants based on the morphology.Keywords: Coleus amboinicus Lour., Coleus blumei, LC50, putative mutan

Ethyl methane sulphonate -A potent mutagen for inducing genetic variability in saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

Mutagenic effects of three concentrations of ethyl methane sulphonate [EMS] (0.1, 0.15 and 0.20%) to improve floral, foliar, corm and quality attributes in saffron was evaluated. A considerable genetic variability was observed among the mutagenic lines created with 0.15 and 0.20% EMS dose with significant shift in mean values in positive direction for almost all the traits studied. Identification of 64 mutant lines from available population of 660 lines confirmed highest mutagenic frequency of 43.75% by 0.15% EMS followed by 0.2% EMS (42.18%); whereas 0.10% EMS showed least mutagenic frequency. Component analysis showed medium to high GCV values for most of the traits confirming variability of genetic nature thereby implying that clonal selection has paramount significance in the identification of elite lines. Divergence analysis grouped 92% mutagenic lines in cluster 1 followed by 6.1% in cluster 2 and 1.5% in cluster 3. Maximum contribution towards divergence of most of the traits was recorded by lines ‘SS/EMS-3/113’, ‘SS/EMS-3/132’, ‘SS/EMS-3/130’ and ‘SS/EMS-1/219’. Per se performance studies identified 18 extraordinary lines which showed significant superiority over base population for floral, foliar, corm and quality attributes and thus can be harnessed for commercial exploitation for enhancement in factor productivity per unit area.

Determination of optimum dosage of the mutagen ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) for mass treatment of shoot tips of banana variety ‘Agra’

Fusarium wilt disease is the main threat to the commercial cultivation of kolikuttu (silk) banana (Musa spp.). Therefore, efforts were made to improve Kolikuttu banana through induced mutation to enable development of tolerant varieties to Fusarium wilt disease. Shoot apices of in-vitro proliferated banana variety ‘Agra’ were treated with a series of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS; 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0% v/v) along with two incubation periods (2 h and 3 h) to identify the optimum concentration of the mutagen. The estimated LD50 values, based on the survival percentage, were 2.63% and 1.6% for 2 h and 3 h, respectively. Fresh weight was reduced by 50% of the control at EMS concentrations of 1.58% and 1.27% while LD50 values for shoot height reduction were 1.71% and 1% for 2 h and 3 h immersions, respectively. Linear reduction of number of buds with increasing EMS dosages was much prominent with 2 h incubation and the estimated LD50 values for this parameter were 1.72% and 1.24% for 2 h and 3 h incubation, respectively. At lower dosage levels, the multiplication ratio over four subculture cycles showed considerable variations. Multiplication was completely arrested at dosages >1.5%.

Increasing Al-Tolerance of Sugarcane Using Ethyl Methane Sulphonate and In Vitro Selection in the Low pH Media

Increased production of sugarcane in Indonesia can be done with extensification sugarcane plantations which largely dominated by acidic upland red-yellow podzolic soil. High aluminium (Al) content and low pH of the soil can inhibit plant growth and development. Tolerant sugarcane in acid soil is the most efficient way, but the adaptive variety is still limited. In vitro culture technique can increase genetic variability to assemble new varieties through somaclonal variation combined with mutation using ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS). The new characters was directed by in vitro selection using AlCl3.6H2O with pH = 4 as a component of selection for resistance to high aluminium. VMC 7616 and PS 862 varieties were used as materials. Mutation induced using EMS at concentrations of 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% for 30, 60 and 120 minutes. Plantlets mutant obtained through callus formation, immersion callus in EMS, in vitro selection, and regeneration of callus. Result of study showed that the long immersion in the EMS solution caused greater damage to the cells, as indicated by the change in callus colour. Callus immersion time in EMS gave greater influence to regeneration compared to concentration of EMS. PS 862 had higher Al tolerance than VMC 7616. Rooting of shoot induced using indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) 3 mg/L.

Effect of seed treatment by ethyl methane sulphonate on growth, flowering and yield of papaya cv. Pusa Dwarf

An experiment was conducted at Horticultural Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, to find out the optimum doses of ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) on growth, flowering and yield of papaya. The seeds of papaya were treated with chemical mutagen ‘ethyl methane sulphonate ’(0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%). The results indicated that the seed treated with EMS @ 0.50%, significantly emerged earlier sprouts as compared to the other treatment. The maximum germination percentage, survival percentage was also observed in same treatment. Untreated plants produced maximum height of the plant, number of leaves per plant, leaf length and petiole length while, the plants obtained by the seed treatment with 0.50% EMS concentration produced maximum stem girth. While, maximum days to first flowering and plant height at flowering stage was observed under control. However, the plants produced by the seeds treatment with EMS @ 0.50% concentration produced maximum fruiting length, fruits per plant and fruit yield per plant during both the years.

Ethyl methane sulfonate induced mutations in M2 generation and physiological variations in M1 generation of peppers (Capsicum annuum L.).

This study was conducted to enhance genetic variability in peppers (Capsicum annuum, cv B12) using ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS). Exposure to an EMS concentration of 0.6%, v/v for 12 h was used to mutagenize 2000 seeds for the first generation (M1). It was observed that the growth behaviors including plant height, flowering date, and number of seeds per first fruit were different in the M1 generation than in wild type (WT) plants. In addition one phenotypic mutation (leaf shape and plant architecture) was observed during the M1 generation. During the seedling stage in the M2 generation, the observed changes were in the form of slow growth or chlorophyll defect (e.g., albino, pale green, and yellow seedlings). At maturity, there were three kinds of phenotypic mutations observed in three different families of the mutant population. The first observed change was a plant with yellow leaf color, and the leaves of this mutant plant contained 62.19% less chlorophyll a and 64.06% less chlorophyll b as compared to the wild-type. The second mutation resulted in one dwarf plant with a very short stature (6 cm), compact internodes and the leaves and stem were rough and thick. The third type of mutation occurred in four plants and resulted in the leaves of these plants being very thick and longer than those of WT plants. Furthermore, anatomical observations of the leaf blade section of this mutant plant type contained more xylem and collenchyma tissue in the leaf midrib of the mutant plant than WT. In addition, its leaf blade contained thicker palisade and spongy tissue than the WT.

Effect of EMS on Induced Morphological Mutants and Chromosomal Variation in Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i> (L.) Walp)

Effect of EMS (ethyl methane sulphonate) on induced morphological mutants and chromosomal variation in cowpea was studied using five different doses of mutagen along with a control in randomized blocked design with three replications. The morphological mutants there are two types of viable and chlorophyll mutants. Viable mutant contains tall, dwarf, early maturity, late maturity, leaf mutants pod mutant and flower mutants. The frequency of chlorophyll mutant contains albino, xantha and viridis. This concentration can damage or modify important components of plant cells and have been reported to affect the morphology, anatomy, biochemistry and physiology of plants differentially depending on the concentration level. These effects include changes in the cellular structure and metabolism of the plants e.g., dilation of thylakoid membranes, alteration in photosynthesis, modulation of the antioxidative system and accumulation of phenolic compounds. The morphological and chromosomal variation was found to be mutagen sensitive in somatic cells of cowpea. It was found to increase with increasing the concentration of EMS in Cowpea plants. The chemical mutagen like ethyl methane sulphonate induces high frequency of chromosomal changes like anaphasic bridge; anaphasic laggard, anaphasic bridge and clumbing of chromosome were including control plants also observed.

Effect of EMS on Induced Morphological Mutants and Chromosomal Variation in Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i> (L.) Walp)

Effect of EMS (ethyl methane sulphonate) on induced morphological mutants and chromosomal variation in cowpea was studied using five different doses of mutagen along with a control in randomized blocked design with three replications. The morphological mutants there are two types of viable and chlorophyll mutants. Viable mutant contains tall, dwarf, early maturity, late maturity, leaf mutants pod mutant and flower mutants. The frequency of chlorophyll mutant contains albino, xantha and viridis. This concentration can damage or modify important components of plant cells and have been reported to affect the morphology, anatomy, biochemistry and physiology of plants differentially depending on the concentration level. These effects include changes in the cellular structure and metabolism of the plants e.g., dilation of thylakoid membranes, alteration in photosynthesis, modulation of the antioxidative system and accumulation of phenolic compounds. The morphological and chromosomal variation was found to be mutagen sensitive in somatic cells of cowpea. It was found to increase with increasing the concentration of EMS in Cowpea plants. The chemical mutagen like ethyl methane sulphonate induces high frequency of chromosomal changes like anaphasic bridge; anaphasic laggard, anaphasic bridge and clumbing of chromosome were including control plants also observed.

Mutagenic Effect on Seed Germination, Seedling Growth and Seedling Survival of Pigeon Pea (<i>Cajanus cajan</i> (L.) Millsp)

In the present investigation the seeds of Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp) were treated with different doses of gamma radiation (05KR, 10KR, 15KR, 20KR, 25KR, 30KR, 35KR, 40KR, 45KR, and 50KR) and concentration of Ethyl Methane Sulphonate (05mM, 10mM, 15mM, 20mM, 25mM, 30mM, 35mM, 40mM, 45mM, and 50mM) for studying seed germination, seedling height, (shoot and root), seedling injury, seedling vigour index, and seedling survival of plants at 30th day. The seed germination percentage was decreased with increased in the concentration/doses when compared to control. The LD50 (Lethal dose) value was determined based upon the seed germination percentage. The 50 percentage of seed germination and reduction was observed in 20KR of gamma rays and 25mM of EMS and it is considered as LD50 value for both the treatments. The decrease in seed germination was more prominent with gamma rays than that of EMS treatments. The seedling parameters of gamma rays and EMS treated seedlings were progressively decreased with increase dose/concentration in all mutagenic treatments when compared to control. The maximum seedling parameters were observed in 05KR of gamma rays and 05mM of EMS. Minimum seedling parameters were observed in 50mM of EMS and 50KR of gamma rays respectively.

Somaclonal Variation in Potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i> L.) Using Chemical Mutagens

An experiment was conducted with three popular potato varieties viz. Cardinal, Diamant and Asterix to create somaclonal variation in potato. The chemical mutagens viz. Ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS), Methyl methane sulphonate (MMS), 5-Bromo Uracil (BU) and 2,4-D were used in three different concentration (1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/L). Among them only 2,4-D regenerated callus in potato. Higher concentration (4.0 mg/L) of 2,4-D showed variant type of callus, which regenerated abnormal plantlet and some of the plantlets died within 45 days after inoculation. The higher concentration (4.0 mg/L) of EMS, MMS and BU showed huge abnormality on in vitro regeneration in all three varieties of potato. Thin stem, deformed shoot development and very less leaf formation were observed in 2.0 mg/L and 4.0 mg/L of EMS, MMS and BU. Due to toxic effect some of the plantlets died. The mutagen treated variants were acclimatized in plastic tray and subsequently in the field condition. It was noticed that, only 37.16% plants survived in natural field condition. Morphological characterization and yield potentiality of all somaclones were studied. It revealed that only one variants viz. SVP-53 showed higher yield as compared with two check varieties. The first generation mini tubers were kept for further research. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/agric.v12i1.19572 The Agriculturists 2014; 12(1) 15-25

Mutagenic Effect on Seed Germination, Seedling Growth and Seedling Survival of Pigeon Pea (<i>Cajanus cajan</i> (L.) Millsp)

In the present investigation the seeds of Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp) were treated with different doses of gamma radiation (05KR, 10KR, 15KR, 20KR, 25KR, 30KR, 35KR, 40KR, 45KR, and 50KR) and concentration of Ethyl Methane Sulphonate (05mM, 10mM, 15mM, 20mM, 25mM, 30mM, 35mM, 40mM, 45mM, and 50mM) for studying seed germination, seedling height, (shoot and root), seedling injury, seedling vigour index, and seedling survival of plants at 30th day. The seed germination percentage was decreased with increased in the concentration/doses when compared to control. The LD50 (Lethal dose) value was determined based upon the seed germination percentage. The 50 percentage of seed germination and reduction was observed in 20KR of gamma rays and 25mM of EMS and it is considered as LD50 value for both the treatments. The decrease in seed germination was more prominent with gamma rays than that of EMS treatments. The seedling parameters of gamma rays and EMS treated seedlings were progressively decreased with increase dose/concentration in all mutagenic treatments when compared to control. The maximum seedling parameters were observed in 05KR of gamma rays and 05mM of EMS. Minimum seedling parameters were observed in 50mM of EMS and 50KR of gamma rays respectively.

Genetic variability estimates in induced population of sesame (Sesamum indicum)

An investigation was carried out to study the nature and magnitude of induced genetic variability in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Seeds of three sesame genotypes, Rama, SI 1666 and IC 21706 were treated with three doses of g-rays (200 Gy, 400 Gy and 600 Gy) and four concentrations of ethyl methane sulphonate (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%), separately. Mutant generations from M1 to M2 were raised to study the extent of variability, heritability and genetic advance in mutant populations. Mutations surpassed the magnitude of variability over control population in both the generations. Genotypic and phenotypic variances were higher for sterility% and 1000-seed weight in both M1 and M2 generations. With regardless of the genotype, M1 generation professed maximum genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variability (GCV and PCV) for number of seeds per capsule. On the contrary, in M2 generation induced populations of all the three genotypes engendered maximum GCV and PCV for seed yield per plant. High heritability for sterility percentage and 1000-seed weight coupled with high genetic advance inferred that additive gene effects were important in determining these characters and could be improved through mass selection.