Nutritional Quality of Vegetable Pigeonpeas [Cajanus cajan (L.) Mill sp.]: Mineral and Trace Elements

Mineral and trace elements of green and mature seed of pigeonpea genotypes were determined. Among the genotypes tested a considerable variation was observed in phosphorus, potassium and calcium of both green and mature seeds whereas the variation was small for magnesium. When consumed, green seeds are a richer source of iron, copper and zinc on a dry matter basis than the mature seed whereas there was a reverse trend for manganese. The calcium content of mature seed was significantly higher than green seed and this was attributed to the seed coat content of the mature seed.