Six varieties of green leafy vegetables, namely, Amaranthus hybridus, Corchorus olitorius, O. gratissimum, Talinum triangulare, Telfaria occidentalis and Vernonia amygdalina were estimated in their raw, steamed and boiled forms for their mineral compositions. The effect of two different cooking methods (steaming i.e. water blanching and boiling) on fresh leafy vegetables were also evaluated. The mineral contents of fresh leaves of the vegetables were determined using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence techniques (EDXRF). The results from EDXRF analysis of mineral contents of the six leafy vegetables revealed that fresh, steamed and boiled C. olitorius had the highest quantity of K (133.5, 131.5 and 91.2 mg/100 g) and Zn (28.9, 28.4 and 21.4 mg/100 g) respectively. The fresh, steamed and boiled T. occidentalis had the highest quantity of Ca (124.2, 122.2 and 80.3 mg/100 g), Na (102.2, 100.6 and 71.1 mg/100 g) and Mg (324.5, 319.2 and 225.5 mg/100 g) respectively, while the fresh, steamed and boiled A. hybridus had the highest quantity of Fe (48.6, 47.7 and 29.1 mg/100 g) respectively. The results of percentage loss of mineral composition revealed that almost 40 % of minerals in boiled vegetables was lost, while the amount lost in steamed vegetables was < 2 %. The results obtained from evaluation of sodium/potassium (Na/K) ratio showed that all fresh and steamed leafy vegetables have the same values but the boiled leafy vegetables gave different values. The results have shown that vegetables could serve a better source of some important minerals that can contribute qualitatively to the nutritional need of humans. Based on the results from the processing of vegetables, we suggest that the daily nutritional needs can better be acquired by consuming the steamed processed vegetables rather than consuming the boiled processed vegetables, which would also probably reduce high blood pressure diseases.

Tomato is an important vegetable commercialized in Pakistan, and the use of Gibberellic acid (GA3) to cultivate it in the Peshawar valley may promote the production of high quality tomato. Therefore, A field experiment was conducted at the Agriculture Farm of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan during summer 2017, to study the influence of calcium chloride and gibberellic acid levels on the growth yield and quality of tomato. (Cv. Ontario). There were four concentrations of calcium chloride i.e0, 3, 6, and9% and four levels of GA3i.e, 0, 50, 75 and 90ppm ha-1. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) having three replication. Applications of calcium chloride and gibberellic acid levels have significant effect on the growth, yield and quality of tomato. The maximum number of branches plant-1 (8.18), number of flower cluster plant-1 (10), number of flower plant-1 (45), number of fruit cluster plant-1 (6), number of fruit plant-1 (27), yield plant-1 (2.0kg), yield plot-1 (8 kg) yield ha-1 (22tons), weight of individual fruit (80.3 g), vitamin C content (69.63mg 100 g-1), fruit firmness (14 N) and cost benefit ratio (1.8) was observed at 75 ppm of GA3, while the maximum plant height (88.93 cm) was found at90 ppm of GA3. In case of calcium chloride the maximum number of branches plant-1 (7.19), plant height (87.58cm), number of flower cluster plant-1 (10), number of flower plant-1 (43), number of fruit cluster plant-1 (5), number of fruit plant-1 (23), yield plant-1 (1.6kg), yield plot-1 (6.8kg) yield ha-1 (18.8tons), weight of individual fruit (74 g), Vitamin C content (70 mg 100 g-1) and cost benefit ratio (2.3) was found at 9 % of CaCl2, while the maximum fruit firmness (14.19 N) and minimum blossom end rot (4.82 %) was noted at6 % of CaCl2. It was concluded that CaCl2 at the rate of 9% and GA3at the rate of 75 ppm has significant effect on enhancing growth and quality attributes of tomato. Therefore it is recommended that CaCl2at the rate of 9% and GA3at the rate of 75 ppm should be used for maximum growth, yield and quality of tomato in the agro-climatic conditions of DistrictMardan.