Kalyan, A and Belliappa, S H and Bomma, N and Sonnappa, M S and Naik, S and Kishore, S and Pujar, M and Praveen Kumar, B and Tembhurne, B V and Laxuman, C and Yeri, S B and Kenganal, M and Gaiwal, K and Vamshi, S S and Vemula, A K and Mayes, S and Gangashetty, P I (2025) Assessing the Genetic Potential of Micronutrients Accumulation in Pigeonpea Grains [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]. Plant Breeding (TSI). pp. 1-15. ISSN 0179-9541
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Abstract
Biofortification is a promising strategy for enhancing the micronutrient content of staple crops to combat hidden hunger. Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], a climate-resilient legume, has significant potential to address nutritional deficiencies by providing essential micronutrients such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). This study evaluated 185 reference set accessions and 15 elite pigeonpea genotypes of diverse maturity groups from early (121–150 days) to late maturity (> 180 days) for their grain and cotyledon (dal) micronutrient content. Field trials were conducted during rainy 2023 at three diverse locations. Significant variation (Prob.Chisq < 0.0001) was observed among genotypes, with a two-fold difference in grain calcium content (GCaC) (1678.22–2506.27 ppm) and grain magnesium content (GMgC) (1327.04–2106.89 ppm), while grain iron content (GFeC) (30.46–34.22 ppm) and grain zinc content (GZnC) (27.83–36.10 ppm) exhibited moderate variation. GCaC and GMgC showed high estimates of heritability (h2 = 76.00%). Following the cluster analysis, 200 genotypes were grouped into five unique clusters. The largest cluster, Cluster II, had 72 genotypes, followed by Clusters III and IV, both of which had 43 genotypes. Principal component analysis revealed the key micronutrients contributing to genetic variation among the studied pigeonpea genotypes. The accumulation pattern of micronutrients in whole grain followed the order: Ca > Mg > Zn > Fe, whereas a dominant consumable form (dal) showed the trend of Fe > Zn > Mg > Ca. Direct selection for high cotyledon micronutrient would be an effective strategy over selection based on whole grain micronutrient content. The identified micronutrient-specific and dense genotypes can be used as potential donors for establishing biofortification breeding in pigeonpea.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Global Research Program - Accelerated Crop Improvement |
| CRP: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | biofortification, genetic diversity, genetic variability, micronutrients, pigeonpea, split cotyledon |
| Subjects: | Others > Biofortification Mandate crops > Pigeonpea Others > Genetics and Genomics |
| Depositing User: | Mr Nagaraju T |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Feb 2026 08:35 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Feb 2026 08:35 |
| URI: | http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/13486 |
| Official URL: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/p... |
| Projects: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Funders: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Acknowledgement: | The authors gratefully acknowledge the Genebank at ICRISAT, Hyderabad, for providing seed material. We acknowledge the CRAL lab for conducting micronutrient estimation, CIOT for helping in seed preparation and packing and Pigeonpea Breeding for the smooth conduct of the trial and trial management. The authors gratefully acknowledge UAS, Raichur and ZARS, Kalaburagi, for the trialling. We extend our sincere thanks to the scientist and staff of IIPR-Kanpur and RARS-Warangal for assisting in trial management. Special thanks to the Technicians and Research interns of Pigeonpea Breeding, ICRISAT, for their diligent maintenance of the fields and support throughout the experimentation. |
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