Gamma Rays and CarbonIon-Beams Irradiation for Mutation ...

traits as female sterility and parthenocarphy which make conventional
breeding difficult (FAO, 2003). Thus, the use of radiation breeding using
gamma rays could prove to be a viable method in banana breeding work.
The use of mutagens has been acknowledged as a reliable method of
breeding plants with improved characteristics in many crops. In this study,
nuclear techniques especially the use of 60 Co and 137 Cs as sources of
gamma rays was coupled with in vitro techniques, to induce mutation as a
source of genetic variability for possible improved and more desirable traits.
This research has the following objectives: 1) to apply both
tissue culture and gamma rays irradiation techniques to induce genetic
variability for mutant selection, to determine the sensitivity to gamma
irradiation, and select suitable dosage application to irradiate banana, 2) to
conduct studies on irradiated materials aiming at finding a black Sigatoka-
tolerant or resistant banana mutant, using toxin inoculation techniques in
determining disease-resistance at young stages of banana in vitro and, 3) to
identify aneuploid variants among the irradiated materials.
3. 2. Materials and Methods
3. 2. 1. Irradiation of the banana germplasm using 60 Co and 137 Cs as
source of gamma rays
The experiments were established using three kinds of facilities,
where different dosage and treatment were applied as mentioned below.
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