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 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.
Kalyan et al. (2025) studied this question.