Evaluating the potential of mutagenesis in garlic breeding

• Grant number: 25/08832-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Angelo Piotto
• Grantee: Jaime Corbiniano dos Santos Neto
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

To obtain a new cultivar, a breeding program goes through several stages, including crossing, evaluation and selection. However, in the current context, garlic cultivation does not have a common breeding program, due to the limitations in flower and seed formation. The use of other techniques to develop new cultivars is therefore essential. In view of the above, the aim of this study is to select and characterize new potential garlic mutants of the Ito cultivar, resulting from the induction of variability using gamma radiation. The study will be conducted in the field in Piracicaba-SP, using a randomized block design, involving all the potential mutants of the M1V3 generation, resulting from treatment with gamma radiation doses of 0, 5, 10 and 15 Gy. Each bulb harvested in the M1V2 generation will be grouped as a family in the generation, threshed and the bulbs planted in a line, with the aim of identifying possible morphological changes that could indicate the occurrence of new mutations. In addition to the data obtained from the M1V3 generation, the data previously obtained from the two previous generations will be used to help gain a better understanding of the variation in the population. The data obtained comes from field and post-harvest evaluations, as well as the use of drone images taken during the crop's growing season. All the data collected will be used to carry out the appropriate statistical analyses and select individuals, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of using gamma radiation to generate genetic variability and obtain new potential mutants, candidates for becoming new cultivars.