Estimation and multi-variate analysis of iron and zinc concentration in a diverse panel of urdbean (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) genotypes grown under differing soil conditions

Abstract Urdbean is an important pulse crop in South Asia and has the potential to be a global food legume due to its rich nutrient profile. Therefore, identification of sources with high concentration of iron and zinc is important for overcoming the problem of micronutrient malnutrition. In the present study 83 urdbean genotypes of diverse origin were tested for iron and zinc concentrations over two locations. Analysis ofvariance showed that genotype effects were significant for both traits over both locations. Iron concentration ranged from 19-235 mg/kg (mean 117 mg/kg) and 16-255 mg/kg (mean 91 mg/kg) among tested genotypes at the first and second locations, respectively. For zinc concentration it ranged from 5-134 mg/kg ( mean 44 mg/kg)at first location, while at second location it was between 12-59 mg/kg (mean 29 mg/kg). Combined analysis of variance showed the ‘genotype (G)’, ‘location (L)’ and ‘genotype’ (G) x ‘location’ (L) interaction effects significant for both micronutrient concentrations. For high iron concentration, most stable urdbean genotypes (PU 31 and IPU 99-43) for high iron concentration were identified using GGEBiplot analysis. Similarly, highly stable genotypes for high concentration of zinc were BGP 28 and HPU 120.This study has identified useful donors and enhanced our knowledge towards the development of biofortified urdbean cultivars.