Assessment of mutation caused by colchicine in apple gourd (Praecitrullus fistulosus) based on morphological and biochemical attributes

Apple gourd is a very important vegetable. It has problem of more seeds which increase the dislikeness of customers in the market. Research and development are required to reduce the number of seeds for more consumer acceptability. Colchicine may be used as one of the most potential treatments in the propagation which is used to induce mutation and prevention of microtubule formation during cell division and doubling of chromosomes. In this study Colchicine was used. The seed of Apple gourd was treated with two different concentrations T1 and T2 in comparison with control T0. Treated seeds were sown in polyethene bags in nursery for germination and after 40 days were transplanted in the field. This field experimentation was carried out in a research area of department of horticulture sciences according to complete randomized block design (CRBD). The following parameters were recorded (number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, number of flowers per plant, flowering time, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant, fruiting time, fruit weight (g), fruit diameter (mm), leaf area (cm2), vine length (cm) and germination %, leaf area, total proteins, total phenolics and stomata contents, carbohydrates contents, chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B contents). Morphological parameters number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, number of flowers per plant, flowering time, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant, fruiting time, fruit weight (g), fruit diameter (mm), leaf area (cm2), vine length (cm) and germination % were increased in (T0). While large number of leaves, thicker branches, broad and large leaves, dark flowers and tasteful and seedless fruits were produced in 0.2% colchicine solution (T2). On the other hand, biochemical or physiological parameters leaf area, total proteins, total phenolics and stomata contents were increased in (T0), carbohydrates contents were increased in (T1), chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B contents were increased in (T2). Overall colchicine had good effect on chromosomes number, morphological and physiological attributes of apple gourd. According to present study 0.2 % of colchicine solution is considered best for the production of tetraploid plants and to induce polyploidy in vegetables.