Determination of the effects of different doses of gamma radiation and ems (ethyl methane sulphonate) treatments on plant and agricultural traits in m1 and m₂ generations of some red lentil varieties

Mutation is an important technique used to induce variability in lentils (Lens culinaris), as in all other plants. This study aimed to determine the effective doses of gamma rays and EMS concentrations in different lentil cultivars, to determine the effects of mutagens on plant traits in the M1 and M₂ generations, and to identify different mutant genotypes. This study was conducted in the GAPUTAEM over two years, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025. In this study, Fırat-87, Tigris, Koç-21, and Şakar lentil cultivars were used as plant material, gamma Cobalt-60 radiation was used as physical mutagen, and ethyl methane sulfonate was used as chemical mutagen. Gamma radiation doses of 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 Gy, and EMS concentrations of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 mM were used. According to dose-effectiveness analysis, all gamma radiation doses of 100, 200, and 300 Gy were used in the M1 generation. In the M₂ generation, genotypes obtained from all gamma irradiation doses were used, while only 20 and 40 mM concentrations were used from EMS treatments. The experiments were conducted in petri dishes, pots, and field trials. In both years, field trials were designed as randomizedcomplete blocks, while petri and vial trials were designed as randomized complete plots. In the M1 generation, 1000 seeds from each variety and mutagen treatment were exposed to mutagens. In the M₂ generation, different numbers of plant lines were created from each variety and mutagen treatment. In gamma irradiations, the Ort. germination time ranged from 1 day at 100 Gy (Tigris and Şakar) to 4.1 days at 100 Gy (Fırat-87). The Ort. germination time generally increased with higher doses. In EMS concentrations, the Ort. germination time ranged from 1.0 to 2.0 days at 100 Gy. The GR50 value was found to be 86.029 mM, 64.3 mM, 64.06 mM and 49.03 mM in Fırat-87, Koç-21, Şakar and Tigris varieties, respectively, and 337.3 Gy, 278.5 Gy, 287.1 Gy and 314.4 Gy in gamma irradiation. The lethal dose (LD50) was found to be 127.384 gy in Koç-21, 131.45 gy in Şakar, 156.75 gy in Tigris and 178.84 gy in Fırat-87. In the M1 generation, the effect of gamma irradiation on seed number per plant and seed yield per plant varied among cultivars. In all cultivars, number seeds per plant and seed yield per plant were higher at 100 Gy and 200 Gy irradiation doses than at 300 Gy and the control. It was determined that the Tigris cultivar had higher values than the control at high EMS concentrations. In the M₂ generation, under gamma irradiation and EMS concentrations, pod and seed number per plant and seed weight were higher than the control in all cultivars. For all studied cultivars, number of pods and seeds per plant and plant seed yield in M₂ plants under EMS concentrations and gamma irradiation were considered as selection criteria. Genotype selection in the M₂ generation was achieved using Faiblup analysis based on these traits. Under gamma irradiation, 8 genotypes from Fırat-87, 7 from Koç-21, 11 from Şakar, and 13 from Tigris were selected. Under EMS concentrations, 4 genotypes from Koç-21, 6 from Şakar, and 8 from Tigris were selected, but selection was not possible from Fırat-87. Selection was also made among the genotypes based on traits using cluster analysis. These selected genotypes were found to be the most genetically diverse individuals and exhibited the highest mutation density. Due to their genetically distinct traits, they are of particular importance in breeding programs or in identifying sources of genetic variation.