Impact of Physical and Chemical Mutagens on Vegetative Growth of China Aster [Callistephus chinensis (l.) Nees] cv. Phule Ganesh Pink

The present study was carried out in two different experiments of mutation during September, 2021 to March, 2022 at Floriculture Research Farm, ASPEE College of Horticulture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat. The experiment was conducted for two generations and laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three and five replications. During 2021-22, seedlings of China aster var. Phule Ganesh Pink were treated with different doses of various mutagens which included four treatments of gamma rays (0.25 kR, 0.50 kR, 0.75 kR and 1.00 kR) and another four treatments of chemical mutagen (0.15 % DES, 0.20 % DES, 0.20 % EMS and 0.25 % EMS) and without mutagenic treatment as control. Effect of different doses of chemical mutagen on vegetative aspects were investigated. Fifteen mutants selected from the M1 generation. Generally, lower doses of chemical mutagens i.e. 0.15 % DES showed positive effect on growth related attributes as compared to higher doses. Significantly, the maximum survival per cent i.e., 95.08 was observed in T9 (Control) while, the maximum plant height (55.95 cm) and number of branches (9.60) were recorded in T5 (0.15 %). The highest number of variations were obtained in treatments of chemical mutagens in which maximum number of mutants were noted in T6 (0.20 % EMS).