Mutagenic effects of colchicine on the morphology and yield of three tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) accessions

The mutagenic effect of Colchicine on the morphology and yield of tomato was investigated. Seeds of three tomato accessions (NG/MR/May/09/005-  SouthWest, NG/SA/07/10/002- NorthEast and NG/CHU/Jun/0201-SouthEast) were presoaked in four different concentrations of Colchicine (0.1mM, 0.3mM,  0.5mM, 1.0mM) and 0.0mM as control. The domestic demand for tomato extremely exceeds the supply with over 2-3 million metric tons annually  thereby involving Nigeria into importing about 300,000 metric tonnes worth over $360 million dollar yearly. The experiment was laid in  Randomized Complete Block Design in five replications. The morphological parameters used to characterize the mutants were plant height, number of  leaves/plant, leaf length, number of branches, number of days to first flowering, fruit weight, germination percentage and number of fruit/plant. The  results revealed significant difference (p<0.05) in some of the morphological traits assessed when compared with the controls, except in the number of  branches and plant height, where the effect of the mutagen was not important (p>0.05). The morphological and yield parameters of the southwest and  northeast accessions of tomato as observed in this study, improved with decreasing concentration of Colchicine, while the southeast improved with  increase in the concentration of Colchicine. It is thus recommended that, to improve growth and yield parameters in tomatoes, 0.1mM concentration  should be employed to improve Southwest and Northeast tomato accessions, while 0.5mM or 1.0mM concentrations should be used in the Southeast  tomato accessions.