Mutagenesis: investigating the process and processing the outcome for crop improvement

The discoveries during the late 1920s that the genetic material is amenable to changes excited geneticists who saw new opportunities for both basic and practical applications. During the 1950s, induced mutagenesis was widely pursued in the US, Europe, Japan and China. In India, Swaminathan and his team at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi initiated a major programme on mutagenesis in crop plants. These studies were broadly aimed at understanding the process of mutation, testing the efficacy of various mutagens, identifying optimum dose and the best method of treatment for different crop species; isolation of mutants of basic and applied value; elucidating the biological effects of radiation-treated media, seeds and vegetative propagules on the organisms consuming them