Assessment of nutritional quality parameters in selected vegetable type pigeonpea genotypes

Sixteen genotypes of vegetable-type pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) were evaluated for nutritional quality so as to identify promising genotypes. The average content of total carbohydrate content at the green and the matured stage was found to be 50.2 mg/100 g and 57.1 mg/100 g respectively. The mean values proteins contents were 19.8 mg/100 g in the green stage and 22.3 mg/100 g in the mature stage. The average Calcium contents were 92.3 mg/100 g in the green stage and 110.7 mg/100 g in the mature stage. The mean values Iron content, Manganese content and Zinc content were found to be 5.2 mg/100 g at the green and 5.0 mg/100 g matured stage, 1.2 mg/100 g in the green stage and 1.3 mg/100 g in the mature stage and 2.9 mg/100 g in the green stage and 2.7 mg/100 g in the mature stage respectively. Overall nutritional status is that the genotypes showed a higher amount of protein, starch, manganese and calcium at the grain stage whereas the green stage legumes had higher amounts of minerals viz., iron and zinc. Clustering analysis based on nutritional quality in all sixteen genotypes resulted into a grouping of genotypes into a total of 4 clusters based on Gower’s similarity coefficient. The genotypes were clustered into two major clusters viz. cluster-I and cluster- II. The cluster-I included fourteen genotypes and divided further into A and B sub-clusters. The sub-cluster A again divided into sub-sub- clusters a1 and sub-sub-cluster a2.