Exposure of technetium-99M (TC-99M) on seeds of some crops for the management of root infecting fungi

Gamma radiation gave suppressive effect on root infecting pathogens such as macrophomina phaseolina (tassi) goid,rhizoctonia solani (kühn) and fusarium spp.,and inducive effect on growth of chickpea (cicer arietinum l.) sunflower (helianthus annuus l.) and mash bean (vigna mungo l.). seeds of all tested hosts were treated with gamma rays technetium (tc-99m) at time periods of 0,1,2,4 and 8 minutes. when seeds of chickpea treated with the gamma rays for 2 minutes showed significant increment in height and weight of plant as compared to control where as sunflower treated seed at the same time interval showed significant suppression of root infecting fungi and enhanced the shoot length and weight. two and four minutes treatment of all tested seeds with gamma radiation were best for significant increase in growth parameters as well as reduction in colonization of root rot fungi. © 2017,pakistan botanical society. all rights reserved.