Mutagenic Effects of Fast Neutron Irradiation on Selected Morphological Characters and Yield of the African Long Pepper(Capsicum annum var. accuminatum)

Abstract

The effects of fast neutron irradiation using an Americium-Beryllium source with a flux of 1.5 × 104 n cm-2 s-1 on the morphological and yield traits of African long pepper (Capsicum annum var. accuminatum) were studied. The pepper seeds were irradiated for 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes before they were sown, with their respective controls, in order to assess the effects of the different irradiation treatments on percentage survival, days to maturity, plant height, number of fruits per plant, number of seeds per fruits, height of fruit, weight of fruit and width of fruit in the M1 generations. All irradiation periods caused leaf abnormalities such as leaves with invaginated or inverted margins, or with a blunt or bifurcated apex, or leaves that turned bifoliage when compared with Control plants. There was, also, pronounced variation in germination percentage, plant height, number of leaves/plant, fruits/plant, seeds/fruit, weight of fruit, length and width of fruits; all essentially may affect productivity negatively. Moreover, 120 min was an effective irradiation period to induce viable and useful mutations for yield parameters in pepper. These results suggest the possibility of evolving higher yield variants of pepper through proper selection.