Evaluation of Sodium Azide as a Chemical Mutagen in Developing Cold-Tolerant Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Lines

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an allotetraploid grain crop belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. With a nutritionally well-balanced nature and rich oil, protein, vitamin, carbohydrate, and amino acid content, it has various health benefits. Hybridization programs to induce genetic variation are difficult processes in quinoa plants; however, the introduction of variations through mutation to obtain promising genotypes is much easier. In this research, quinoa cultivar Atlas seeds were exposed to different doses and application durations of sodium azide (NaN3) were cultivated in pots. The present findings revealed distinctive differences in all studied traits between native and mutant plants. NaN3 mutagenesis caused genetic variations that were categorized based on studied traits and RAPD data, which led to two distinct groups during M-2. It was noted that 2 mM + 3 h NaN3 treatments had the greatest effects on genetic variations and germination parameters. Present findings were also confirmed by molecular analysis. This research will provide new insights into molecular breeding programs to be conducted to improve present quinoa genotypes and produce better genotypes.