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EMS Induced Variations On Quantitative Traits In Linum Usitatissimum

L. Var. Shekhar.

Nidhi Sharma*, Sana Choudhary, Neha Naaz and, Nazarul Hasan

Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
*Email of corresponding author: nidhisharma7517@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Linum usitatissimum L. (flaxseed/linseed) is an important medicinal crop of family linaceace

grown for its edible seed, the oil from the seed and for the fibres obtained from the stems.
Induce mutagenesis plays a vital role in crop improvement by inferring variations in

germplasm and is preferred over hybridization and recombination because it improves a
defect in an otherwise elite cultivar, without losing its agronomic and quality characteristics.

In present investigation Linum usitatissimum var. Shekhar was exposed with five different

mutagenic dose of Ethyl Methane Sulphonate (EMS) i.e, 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08% and
0.10%. Seed germination, plant survival and pollen fertility was found to be decreased in

treated population than control. The higher concentrations of EMS viz, 0.08% and 0.10%
significantly reduced plant height, branches per plant and various yield parameters. The

present study reveals moderate concentrations of EMS induce mutagenic damage in Linum
usitatissimum var. Shekhar which can facilitates screening of desirable mutant in M2 and M3

generations. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that lower concentrations of

mutagen did not significantly affect the morphology of Linum, while higher concentrations of
EMS were found to be more mutagenic.

Keywords: Linum usitatissimum L., linseed, chemical mutagen, EMS
1. INTRODUCTION

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L., 2n = 30), also known as flaxseed is an important medicinal rabi
crop, commercially cultivated for seed oil and fibres. The genus Linum is a violet-blue flowering
annual herb belongs to family linaceae. Linseed and its derivate, linseed oil, contains about 36 to 48%

oil content highly rich in unsaturated fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) (Kouba, 2006; Khan
et al., 2010), which is biological precursor of omega-3 fatty acids. Presently, flax is primarily

cultivated in Asia (fiber and linseed), Western Canada (linseed), the northern regions of China (fiber
and linseed), north-central USA (linseed), and Western Europe and Russia (fiber and linseed).
According to FAOSTAT 2019, Kazakhstan is at top for linseed production (tonnes) in world followed

by Russian Federation and Canada. India is at number 6th position and shares approximately 3.22% of
world’s total linseed production (tonnes).

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