Effect of Gamma-irradiation on Growth and Biomass Yield of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) De Wit

A trial was conducted to study the effect of Gamma-irradiation on the growth behaviour vis-a-vis biomass yield of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) De Wit (Subfamily Mimosoidae) one of the very fast growing trees of the tropical forests. Dry seeds were exposed to l, 2. 4, 8 and 10 kR doses of Gamma-irradiatlon. Irradiated seeds were sown in the field along with the control. Germination frequency was noted to be highest in case of kR irradiated seeds. Growth data of the plants were recorded at every one month interval. It was observed that the vegetative growth of most of the irradiated plants was strikingly vigorous in comparison to the control. Total biomass yield of the plants after one year of growth was measured which revealed a significant difference between the irradiated and non-irradiated populations. The photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic biomass ratios were worked out. Possible implication of the findings will be discussed in the paper.