Nutritional and biochemical analysis in vegetable pea germplasm for quality breeding

Garden pea, a model crop for genetic studies and is globally significant for food and nutritional security. To assess its potential, a nutritional evaluation of 94 garden pea genotypes, including four checks, using an augmented block design. Data analysis revealed considerable variation among the genotypes across all evaluated traits. Phenol content ranged from 29.18 to 185.58 mg GAE/100 g, with the highest value observed in IPFD-16-13 (185.58 mg GAE/100 g). The Pusa Prabal genotype exhibited the highest sugar content (9.80%).Protein content varied from 3.54 to 9.09% fresh weight, where GP 1102 recorded the highest protein (9.09%).JP625 demonstrated the highest DPPH and FRAP-based antioxidant activities. Correlation analysis indicated potential for simultaneous improvement of quality traits through selection. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first two components explained more than 50% of the total variation. Similarly, cluster analysis revealed substantial variation among genotypes in nutritional and antioxidant traits, grouping them into 6 clusters. The identified genotypes represent promising candidate donor lines whose breeding potential requires validation across multiple environments.