Seed coat and hypocotyl pigments in greengram and blackgram

Abstract

Three anthocyanins were found in Vigna radiata (greengram) accessions with black seed coat, but were absent in cultivars having green seed coat. Vigna mungo (blackgram) had only one of them. The same 3 anthocyanins were found in cultivars with purple red hypocotyl of Vigna radiata accessions but were absent in the ones with green hypocotyls.Vigna mungo with purple red hypocotyls showed the presence of two anthocyanins. One common to both was identified as delphinidin-3-glucoside and the other is probably cyanidin-3-glucoside. Among the two accessions of Vigna radiata varsublobata examined, one was similar to Vigna radiata accessions with black seed coat having delphinidin-3-glucoside and two other anthocyanins, while the other resembled Vigna mungo having only delphinidin-3-glucoside in seed coat and both delphinidin and cyanidin-3-glucosides in hypocotyl. Chlorophyll content of the seed coats was in the following decreasing order: green, black, brown and yellow. Browning of the seed coat of cv TAP-7 after storage over a year was associated with reduction in chlorophyll content.