Effects of Exposure of Seeds of Cuccumis Sativus L. to Low Doses of X-Ray on Germination and Growth Parameters of the Plant

Abstract

This study titled the Effect of Exposure of Cuccumis Sativus  L to low doses of X-ray on the germination and growth parameters of the plant, was conducted to test the effect of this physical mutagen on the field performance of this important vegetable crop cucumber. Certified seeds of cucumber were exposed to some measured doses of X-ray using the medical X-ray machine (Dogman X-ray machine capacity 125KV, 250MA rated line voltage of 220VAC).Four doses of the radiation were administered at 5mGs, 10mGys, 15mGys and 20mGys respectively for each of the four treatments, Thereafter, the treated seeds were sown in perforated containers arranged in standard field operation design. Data on germination performance, Parameters such as numbers of branches, number of leaves and leaf area were collected analyzed. The analyzed data ase compared with that obtained from the control (untreated seeds) using standard statistical tools as ANOVA and SAS. The result showed that in the germination experiment a significant difference existed between treated and non-treated seeds as well among the treated seeds Low dosed seeds germinated more. In plants that received the lowest dose of x-ray which was 5mGy, the germination occurred at a value of 90.60% while the control performed at a germination rate d of 83.46%. In plant height, the treatment regime of 15mGy produced a  mean of 94.60 cm during the 6^th week of planting, compared to the control which recorded 50.80cm, giving a very high statistical significance at P<0.01. In leaf size as measured by the lesf area, the largest leaves were produced in the seeds treated with 15mGy of X-ray with a mean area of 231.00cm² an equally high significant result compared to the control of 172.20cm².These positive results do indicate that given the right follow up treatment these vegetatively enhanced plants may eventually progress to yield enhancement using the physical agent of X-ray at low doses.