Screening Of Ethyl Methane Sulphonate Mutagenized Tef [Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotter] Population Identifies Al-Tolerant Lines

About 15,000 M-2 seeds of ethyl-methane-sulphonate (EMS)-mutagenized population were screened along with Al-tolerant and sensitive checks and the M-0 variety. Strongly acidic soil with an external application of a toxic Al-solution and exposure to moisture stress was used to maximize selection pressure. Twenty-one M-2 plants with root lengths of greater than the mean of the tolerant check were selected and planted for seed production. Candidate M-3 plants were investigated for Al-tolerance and for morpho-agronomic traits under greenhouse and field conditions, respectively. Highly significant differences were observed for Al-tolerance between the candidate mutant lines and the M-0 (P <.001), and between mutant lines and the sensitive check (P <.001). Similarly, significant differences were observed between the mutant lines for 16 of the 20 quantitative traits measured. This study is the first to report successful induction of enhanced Al-tolerance in tef by using EMS mutagenized population.