Agronomic evaluation and identification of potential cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) genotypes in South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACTCultivar development of cowpea with increased grain yield depends on evaluation and selection of genetically unique and complementary breeding lines. The objective of this study was to evaluate cowpea collections using agronomic traits to select promising parents to develop breeding population. Twenty-two cowpea genotypes were field evaluated using a randomised complete block design with three replications in two locations in South Africa. Analysis of variance revealed significant genotypic (G) and locations (L) differences for all agronomic traits evaluated. Significant differences were also observed for most of the traits due to G X L, G X Year (Y), L X Y and G X L X Y interactions effects. The genotypes tested at two locations showed considerable genetic variation for the following agronomic traits that varied for number of leaves (NL) (20.08–179.78), leaf length (LL) (12.36–67.72 cm), leaf width (LW) (4.78–22.02 cm), number of branches (NB) (6.81–13.85), number of pods per plant (NPPP) (14.33–54.04), number of seeds per pod (NSPP) (11.7286.28), pod diameter (PD) (5.75–22.73 mm), plant height (PH) (6.57–233.71 cm), pod length (PL) (3.94–100.92 mm), hundred seed weight (HSWt) (8.11–49.52 g) and grain yield (GY) (0.10-1.48 t ha−1). Grain yield was significant and positively correlated with all of the traits except leaf length. The principal component analysis (PCA) identified four principal components (PCs) contributing to 73.62% of the total explained variation amongst the tested genotypes. The selected cowpea genotypes for most of agronomic characteristics are useful and candidate genetic resources for the development of breeding population in cowpea breeding and enhanced production and productivity for food and nutrition in the country.