Gamma irradiation is widely used as a physical mutagen to enhance genetic variability and study its effects on plant germination, growth, and biochemical traits, particularly in important crops like maize. The present study investigates the impact of gamma radiation on germination, morphological, and biochemical characterization of maize (Zea mays L.). The seeds of maize were irradiated with 10, 15, 20, 25 kr. It was revealed from the results that by increasing radiation doses, the germination percentage decreased. The results revealed that the stored gamma irradiation in the sample was significantly lower for radicle and plumule length, plant height, number, and width of the shoot. The germination percentage was low in 25kr irradiated seeds and was higher than compared of control plants. The plants irradiated with 20kr showed high protein content (18.04), while those plants which were irradiated with 10kr showed low protein content (6.6). From the results, it was revealed that the biochemical and growth behaviour of the test plants were changed. The carbohydrate contents were increased, and the effect occurred in the height of plants, leaves number, and the width of the shoot. The findings demonstrate that gamma irradiation induces significant alterations in the germination percentage, morphological parameters, and biochemical composition of maize, offering insights for future crop improvement and stress resilience studies.

Index-terms: Carbohydrate content, Gamma irradiation, Germination percentage, Total protein content, and Zea mays L.