Effects of gamma irradiation and ethyl methane sulphonate on morphometric traits and prevalence of common viral diseases and whiteflies in cassava.
Loading...
Date
2021-08-23
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journals Online
Abstract
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important staple and food security crop for millions of people in Africa. However, its nutritional value is limited; yet its productivity is constrained by several pests and diseases. Induced mutagenesis is one approach with the potential to overcome such biotic stresses. The objective of this study was to assess the variability in morphometric traits and prevalence of common viral diseases and whiteflies in cassava to different doses and concentrations of gamma irradiation and ethyl methane sulphonate (ems) treatments. The effects were assessed on seed germination and growth of stakes, as well as foliar viral disease symptoms and whitefly counts. Radio-sensitivity tests revealed LD50 for sprouting as 37.6Gy for g-irradiation and 0.08% for EMS treatment. There was notable decrease in sprout, epicotyl length, shoot height, petiole length and number of leaf lobes, with increasing g-ray doses and EMS concentrations. Contrastingly, total chlorophyll content increased with increasing doses of g-rays and EMS concentrations. Basing on foliar whitefly counts and disease symptoms, there was a general increase in susceptibility to whitefly infestation and cassava mosaic disease (CMD) incidence. Significantly varying levels of resistance or tolerance to whiteflies and CMD were observed among plantlets derived from irradiated and EMS treated stems, compared to the controls. These findings lay a foundation for more future research on breeding for various traits, including disease resistance in cassava using induced mutagenesis approach.
Description
Keywords
Mutagenesis, Radio-sensitivity, Whitefly
Citation
Baguma, J. K., Ogwok, E., Elegba, W., Sarkodie, A., Otu, S., Apio, H. B., ... & Alicai, T. (2021). Effects of gamma irradiation and ethyl methane sulphonate on morphometric traits and prevalence of common viral diseases and whiteflies in cassava. African Crop Science Journal, 29(3), 355-371.