Treatment of seeds with sodium azide for quantitative and qualitative capsule traits at M2 generation of Fourteen Ethiopian sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes

This study aimed at investigating the effects of sodium azide (NaN(3)) on quantitative and qualitative capsule traits in M2 generation of 14 Ethiopian sesame genotypes collected from Humera Agricultural Research Center (HuARC), Tigrai. Both the treatment and control seeds were sown in well-prepared beds in greenhouse to develop M2 plants. Data on quantitative and qualitative traits were collected and analyzed using GenStat 16 software. Results showed significant differences among the M2 seeds treated with 0.75% NaN(3). The highest mean number of capsules per plant was recorded in ACC44 and Baha Necho genotypes, while the lowest was recorded in Gumero, Setit 2, Hirhir, ADI, Bounji and Aberghele. The highest mean number of seeds per capsule was recorded in Humera 1, Baha Necho, Zeri Tesfay, and Gondar 1 genotypes and the lowest was recorded in Setit 1, Setit 2 and ADI. The highest mean capsule length was observed in Zeri Tesfay while the lowest was recorded in Aberghele. The qualitative data reported that Hirhir, Setit 1 and Setit 2 were changed from completely shattering to partially shattering, Gumero and Bounji were changed from completely shattering to non-shattering, and Zeri Tesfay was changed from partially shattering to non-shattering. The 14 genotypes were clustered into four distinct groups including cluster I containing six genotypes, cluster II and III containing two genotypes each and cluster IV containing four genotypes. The mutants developed from Zeri Tesafy, ACC44 and Baha Necho genotypes are considered as potential candidate mutants for further utilization in sesame improvement.