Effects of ⁶⁰Co-γ Radiation on the Growth and Physiological Indexes of Echinochloa crusgalli Seedlings

Purpose To investigate the effects of different ⁶⁰Co-γ-rays irradiation for Echinochloa crusgalli ‘Zhaomu No.1’ on the growth and physiological effects of seedlings.

Method The seeds of E. crusgalli‘Zhaomu No.1’ were used as the test material and treated with different doses of ⁶⁰Co-γ radiation. ⁶⁰Co-γ-ray irradiation dose was 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 Gy. E. crusgalli seeds were cultured seedlings with different radiation doses. The changes of growth, physiological and biochemical indexes of leaves were measured and the indexes were analyzed by correlation and principal component analysis.

Result Radiation inhibited the growth of E. crusgalli seedlings, and 250 Gy doses of radiation had a stronger inhibitory effect on their seedlings. With the increase of radiation dose, soluble sugar, proline, soluble protein and total chlorophyll content was increased first and then decreased trend. The relative conductivity and malondialdehyde content decreased first and then increased. Peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed a trend of increased first and then decreased.

Conclusion By analyzing the variance contribution ratio of principal components and the correlation matrix value of principal components, the characteristic vector analysis shows that the 50−200 Gy radiation dose can be used in the radiation breeding ofE. crusgalli.