Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1882947 Radiation Physics and Chemistry 2010 7 Pages PDF
Abstract

We recently reported the use of low dose gamma irradiation to improve plant vigor, grain development and yield attributes of wheat (Singh and Datta, 2010). Further, we report here the results of a field experiment conducted to assess the effect of gamma irradiation at 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.1 kGy on flag leaf area, stomatal conductance, transpiration and photosynthetic rate and plant and grain nutritional quality. Gamma irradiation improved plant nutrition but did not improve the nutritional quality of grains particularly relating to micronutrients. Grain carotene, a precursor for vitamin A, was higher in irradiated grains. Low grain micronutrients seem to be caused by a limitation in the source to sink nutrient translocation rather than in the nutrient uptake capacity of the plant root.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Physics and Astronomy Radiation
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