The Effect of Gamma Radiation on Plant Morphological Characteristics of Zingiber officinale Roscoe

Induced mutation through gamma irradiation can cause changes in chromosome and genome which bring to successful variation in morphology of plant.  The study was carried out to investigate the effect of gamma radiation on mutation frequency and plant morphology of Zingiber officinale Roscoe. The ginger rhizomes of Bentong and Tanjung Sepat cultivars were treated with gamma rays at six different dosages (5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 Gray). The gamma ray was emitted from the Caesium-137 source at the rate of 4.31 Gy per minute at Malaysian Nuclear Agency irradiator facility. Different mutation frequencies and wide of mutation spectrum were observed in all treatments.  The spectrums of mutant characters observed were stunted growth, plant stature, leaf deformation and chlorophyll mutation. The results show that mutation frequency in both varieties was higher at 5 and 7 Gy when compared to other doses. Therefore, the results proved that different doses of mutagen caused different effects on plant.