Cowpea

COWPEAVigna unguiculata (L)

EXPORT AGRICULTURE

GROUP NO. 01

INTRODUCTION

• Botnical name :Vigna unguiculata (L)

• Family : Febaceae

• Annual herbaceous crop

• Well develop tap root system

• Origin : Africa

Cont’d• well adapted to relatively dry environments

- Asia, Africa, southern Europe and Central

and South America

• In Sri Lanka

- Hambantota, Ratnapura, Badulla,

Monaragala, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Puttlum,

Batticalo, System 'H', Ampara, Polonnaruwa

Cont’d

• One of the most important

food legume crops

• A drought-tolerant and warm-weather crop

• Has the useful ability to fix atmospheric

nitrogen through its root nodules

Cont’d• Grows well in poor soils with

-more than 85% sand

-less than 0.2% organic matter

-low levels of phosphorus

Morphology

• Growing 15-80 cm high • Leaves - alternate, trifoliate with petioles 5-25 cm long -The lateral leaflets are opposite and asymmetrical -central leaflet is symmetrical • Inflorescence  -raceme

Cont’d• Flowers - white, cream, yellow, mauve or purple• Pods  -10-23 cm long with 10-15 seeds/pod• Seeds -variable in size and shape, square to oblong and variously coloured, including white, brown, maroon, cream and green

Nutritive content

(Per 100g of edible portion)

• Water : 11%

• Protein : 23.4%

• Fat : 1.8%

• Carbohydrate : 63.3%

• Calcium : 76mg

• Iron : 5.7mg

Climatic Requirement

• Soil-Can be grown on a wide range of soil

- sandy loam to clay ranging from acidic to

basic (pH 4.5 - 8.0)

-Sandy to clay loam soil and well drained with a

(pH of 6-7 )

• Cowpea are highly sensitive to water logging

• Temperature -20°c - 30°c

Recommended Varieties

• MI 35

• Wijaya

• Waruni

• Dhawala

• Bombay

MI 35

• Exhibits semi-erect growth habit

• Flowers are white in colour

• Pods are borne about the canopy

• Seeds are small and pure cream in colour

• susceptible to collar rot disease

Wijaya

• Erect and determinate growth

• Flowers are bluish purple in colour

• Pods are long pendulous and dark green

• Seeds are large and light brown in colour

• Resistance to collar rot disease

Waruni

• Erect and determinate growth habit

• It has bluish purple flowers

• It bears long pendulous dark green

pods

• Medium sized seeds and reddish

brown in colour

Dhawala• Semi erect growth habit

• Flowers are white in colour

• Pods are pendulous and green in colour

• Seed are large and cream coloured with a

black eye

• Variety Dhawala is suitable for planting in will

drained paddy lands during yala season

Bombay• Erect growth habit

• Flowers are purple in colour

• It posses dark green pigmented long and

pendulous pods

• seed are large and speckled grey brown in

colour

• Bombay cowpea in suitable for cultivation in

Maha season in rainfed uplands

Land Preparation

• One ploughing followed by a harrowing ensures good weed control and a suitable seed bed

• Seed rate35 - 40 kg/ha

• Time of plantingPlant cowpea when there is sufficient soil moisture for germination

Season of planting

• Yala - (Irrigated) April• Maha - ( Rainfed ) End of October- Mid November

Planting method• Rain-fed plant – flat – raised beds

• Plant manually or with a row seeder on ridges or flat beds depending on field drain age

• Plant one plant /hill • spacing 30 cm rows 15 cm plants

Crop Management

Fertilizer• Basal

 N2 30 kg/ha (urea 35 kg/ha-1)P2O5 45kg/ha (Triple super phosphate

100kg/ha-1)K2O 45kg/ha (Muriate of portash 75

kg/ha-1)• Top dressing 

30kg/ha of urea at onset of flowering

Irrigation• Frequency of application Every 4 days during

first 3 weeks and then every 7 days• fine-tuning irrigation schedules for cowpea

during flowering and pod-filling• Sprinkler irrigation method

Weed control

• 3 and 6 weeks after planting weeding is usually done

Weed control methods

Chemical Alachlor 3.3 - 3.5 l ha-1

Oxyfluorfen 0.50 - 0.75 l ha-1Metalochlor 3.0 - 4.0 l ha-1

Manual Usually doing

Pruning

• When cowpea is grown on very fertile soil or

when irrigation is excessive during the

vegetative phase

• Irrigation should be reduced or vine pruned

Harvesting • Harvested at three different stages of maturity

green snaps 45-60 days after planting green-mature 60-90 days after plantingDry 90-110 days after planting

• Depend onTemperature

• Use mechanically harvesters and manually

Post harvest technology 

• Dry cowpea seed Cleaned graded fumigated packed in small plastic bags for sale to

consumers• Moisture content reduced up to 8-9% safe

storage

Pest and diseases DiseasesCollar rot (Pythium aphanidermatum Rhizoctonia sp, Selerotium rolfsii ,Fusariam)• Control

i. Use a recommended fungicide as a soil drenchii. Avoid continuous cropping of cowpea on the same fieldiii. Avoid excessive N2 application

Collar rot in cowpea 

Web blight - Rhizoctonia solani

Symptoms• Small circular reddish brown spots on leaves

• Mycllia of Rhizoctonia solani are visible on the under surface of leaves young stems

Control1. Use disease free seed2. Avoid dense planting3. Use a fungicide recommended for Rhizoctonia

web blight 

Cowpea yellow mosaic virus

Symptoms Leaf symptoms vary from green mottle to severe mosaic Leaf distortion blistering and plant death

Control1. Use resistant cultivars2. Plant disease free seeds3. Control vectors with insecticides

Cowpea yellow mosaic virus 

Other diseases 

Anthracnose 

Fungal wilt 

PEST

• Leaf hoppers -Dimethioate 40% E.C 490 - 700 ml -Endosulfan 35% E.C 560 - 770 ml• Pod borers - Methomidophos 50% E.C 1400 - 2100 ml

Cont’d

Leaf hopper Pod borer

Aphids

Cont’d• Aphids• Scale bugs• Mealy bugs

Dimethoate 910 - 1820 ml

Scale bugs Mealy bugs

Uses • As a nutritional supplement to cereals and an

extender of animal proteins• The tender green leaves are prepared as a pot

herb, like spinach• Green cowpea seeds, Dry mature seeds are

boiled as a fresh vegetable,canned ,frozen• used green or as dry fodder• a green manure crop, a nitrogen fixing crop, or

for erosion control

Group members 

• J.M.C.K.K Jayasundara UWU/EAG/11/0001• S. Kayalvizhy

UWU/EAG/11/0009• W.A.K Wijewikrama

UWU/EAG/11/0002• A.A.I.M Amarasinghe UWU/EAG/11/OO17

Thank you