Improvement of qualitative and quantitative traits in soybean [Glycine Max (L.) Merrill] through gamma irradiation

Gamma irradiation was used at different doses (80, 160 and 240 gy) on glycine max (l.) merrill cv. hillhomogenous seeds. a single suitable m2 plant was selected and evaluated at m3 and m4 along with its parentand three other varieties as control in rcbd experiment in sari agricultural sciences and natural resourcesuniversity’s experimental field. m-80-709 and m-160-3429 mutant lines were significantly shorter (55.05and 72.04 cm respectively). their branch numbers were however significantly more (8.70 and 11.53respectively) compared to the parent cultivar (80.82 cm and 6.10 respectively) and other genotypes (p?0.05),when calculated on per plant basis. besides, the m-160-3429 was characterized by highest grain yield and oilcontent (38.25 g and 19.22% respectively), in compare with its parent (12.73 g and 19.09% respectively) andall others control cultivars (p?0.05). the m-160-3429 mutant line with high grain yield and oil contentaccompanied with some other favorite morphological traits can be considered as a new promising line ofsoybean for future studies. results from this study suggested that mutation breeding procedures at the rangesof 80 to 160 gy is a capable method for breeding higher grain yield including increasing the oil content aswell.