Last year (MNL 60:26, 1986) we reported on treatment procedures and physiological damage from treating maize kernels with sodium azide (NaN3). This material has been selfed twice so that in the summer of 1986 we observed seedlings and plants (M3) for mutations (Table 1). The material is displayed similarly to last year's report in that maturity of the line and germplasm type are noted.
In this study the following seedling and plant mutations were observed: various chlorophyll mutants, chlorotic leaf striping (both length and width), seedling lethality, leaf tip lethality, narrow leaf, crinkly leaf, round white spots on leaves, stature mutants and green plant base. All of these mutations were observed prior to pollination.
The 0.01M concentration under our treatment procedures is too high a dose since in Table 1 there is only one inbred, 42, that had survivors that were propagated to the M3 plant generation. However, in this instance the lower 0.001M concentration gave a higher mutation rate. The overall mutation rate is 20.4%.
Table 1. Inbred designation, maturity, germplasm type and mutagen information from sodium azide kernel treatments
Robert W. Briggs and Andrew R. Bettendorf
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