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IN VITRO INDUCED MUTATION FOR SCREENING OF RED ROT (COLLETOTRICHUM FALCATUM) RESISTANCE IN SUGARCANE (SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM)

AAMIR ALI^1*, SHAGUFTA NAZ², S. SARWAR ALAM³ AND JAVED IQBAL⁴

Abstract: Explants from leaf, shoot apical meristem and parenchymatous pith were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of 2,4-D either alone or in combination with BAP. MS medium containing 3.0 mg/l 2,4-D exhibited maximum callus induction. Seven week old well developed calli were either treated with different concentrations of sodium azide ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 mg/l or irradiated with 10 Gy, 20 Gy, 30 Gy, 40 Gy and 50 Gy doses of γ- rays for induction of mutation. Partially purified toxin of Colletotrichum falcatum ranging from 0.05% to 0.5% was added in callus regenerating medium. Minimum plants were regenerated at 0.5% toxin with maximum callus death. These plants regenerated from callus, which was insensitive to red rot toxin were supposed to be disease resistant. These In vitro screened plants after rooting were hardened and acclimatized in the glass house and were shifted into the field. Field screening was carried out against two different isolates of Colletotrichum falcatum by using syringe method of inoculation (Hussnain & Afghan, 2001). Out of 164 In vitro selected resistant lines, after two years field trials, only 8 were found to be resistant against red rot disease according to red rot disease rating scales as proposed by Srinivasan & Bhat (1961).

¹Department of Biological Sciences, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan,

²Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan

³Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁴School of Biological Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Email: aamirali73@gmail.com