Pigeonpeas (Cajanus cajan Milsp) is the third most important legume in Kenya after beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) (Jones et al. 2002). Pigeonpea production in Kenya is concentrated in the arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) of Eastern Kenya. The region is characterized by malnutrition, due to the lack of sufficient animal protein. A study undertaken by Salome (2016) in Makueni County reported that food consumption patterns were poor with the majority of children (79.1%) consuming foods prepared from maize (Zea mays L.). The high nutritive value of pigeonpeas is the rationale for its importance among smallholder farmers in the region (Odeny, 2007). Therefore, the crop is a supplement to cerealbased rural diets which are deficient in protein.Pigeonpea is utilized at the household level as green vegetable peas, which are shelled manually from pods (Shiferaw et al., 2008).Vegetable pigeonpeas are highly perishable and thus have an inherently short shelf life. Due to the scarcity of post-harvest management options, farmers sell pigeon peas fresh from field harvest resulting in lower market price due to excess in produce at harvest periods.Studies on the effect of post-harvest management on vegetables have been reported. For example, Onyango and Silim (2000) observed that storage of shelled short duration pigeonpeas genotypes at ambient temperatures (21 ± 3℃) led to the loss of ascorbic acid and soluble sugars but increased the total titratable acidity. Changes in the vegetable soybean quality, mainly moisture, vitamin C, minerals, and sugar during cold storage have been reported (Czaikoski et al., 2012). Similarly, it has been reported that ascorbic acid, starch,

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Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan Milsp) is an important food crop in the dryland tropics. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of post-harvest processing and storage on sensory characteristics of pigeonpea. Moisture content of harvested pigeonpeas was assessed at 0. 22 and 60 days of storage. Five treatments of podded, deep-frozen (-18°C), blanched (72°C, 2min), oven-dried (65°C, 8hr), and blanched + oven-dried pigeonpea, in a completely randomized design were evaluated for sensory characteristics at post-harvest storage. The reduction in moisture content was highest (43%) in podded and lowest (6%) on blanched pigeonpea at 60 days of storage. Consumer acceptance of pigeonpea varied significantly (P < 0.05) for traits of physical appearance, color, aroma, and seed tenderness. Physical appearance of podded pigeonpea had a sensory rating of 6.3, indicating high acceptability, while blanched samples had a 6.0 rating on a 7-point hedonic scale. The podded, blanched + oven-dried and seed tenderness had 5.6, 6.6, and 6.1 scores, respectively. The sensory scores of podded and oven-dried were attributed to high sugar concentrations (4.25 mg/100g) the samples at 22 days post pre-treatment. Palatability and overall acceptance of pigeonpea were comparable, indicating that post-harvest treatment and 22-day storage had positive sensory attributes. Post-harvest processing treatment and storage may enhance vegetable pigeonpea utilization in the dryland regions.