Effect of different doses of gamma radiation on the seedlings of Digitaria exilis (Kipp) Stapf.

Abstract

Seeds of Digitaria exilis were exposed to four doses (0, 100, 500 and 1000 gy) of gamma irradiation from 60 Co source and the effects of the doses were tested on the vegetative characters of the seedlings. Percentage germination was highest in 100 gy followed by 0 gy (control) and lowest in 1000 gy. This trend was also true for other
vegetative characters except for the root length which was highest in 500 gy. Mean squares from analysis of variance revealed that all vegetative characters showed significance at 0.01 probability level with respect to level of irradiation dosage.