Determination of Forage Yield and Other Characteristics of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) Cultivars Sown at Different Times

Abstract

In this study, which was carried out in Erzurum conditions to utilize cowpea cultivars and a cowpea landrace sown at different times as feed crops and determine some of their characteristics, 5 genotypes including 4 different cowpea cultivars (Akkız-86, Karagöz-86, Karnıkara, and Ülkem) and 1 landrace (red cowpea) were used, and treatment groups with 3 different sowing times (25 April, 10 May, and 25 May) were formed. The study was conducted with the Randomized Complete Block Design and 4 replicates. According to the results, after the sowing of the cowpea cultivars and landrace at different times, the ranges of the values were 21.50-90.50 cm for plant height, 11.50-25.25 cm for first pod height, 8.25-18.75 cm for pod length, 1.75-19.00 for number of pods, 1.50-13.75 for number of seeds per pod, 935-3537.55 kg/daa for green herbage yield, 157.40-760.38 kg/daa for dry herbage yield, 8.93-12.27% for crude protein ratio, 16.48-26.71% for ADF ratio, and 21.89-36.99% for NDF ratio. Among the sowing times, the dates 25 April and 10 May were prominent. Consequently, the treatment at the sowing time of 25 April was found optimal in terms of the green herbage yield, crude protein ratio, ADF, and NDF values in terms of the identification of sowing times of the plant as a feed crop in Erzurum conditions. Among the cultivars, the Ülkem cultivar and the red cowpea landrace provided the best results as feeds.