Exploring the Effective Management Strategy to Sustain Cowpea Production under High Temperature Stress

Abstract

Background: Abiotic stress negatively impacts the morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of plants leading to loss of yield and quality. The substantial increase in population and global surface temperature extends to global food insecurity hence it is important to maintain a sustainable yield of crops. Cowpea being a protein-rich legume and a nodule-forming crop facilitates not only meeting food insecurity but also creates a sustainable environment. The objective of this study was to explore the suitable management practice for cowpea to attain sustainable yield under the elevated temperature of +2°C from ambient. Methods: An experiment in cowpea variety Co 7 was carried out in Temperature Gradient Tunnel (TGT) located at Agro Climate Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The research trial was carried out during the year 2021 and 2022 with Factorial Completely Randomized Design (FCRD). In this study, we have investigated the effect of different treatments on growth, yield, quality and available nutrients in soil. Result: The application of vermicompost with foliar spray of 3% Panchagavya at 30, 45 and 60 DAS stimulated the plant height, number of leaves and leaf area index (LAI). The increase in availability of soil nutrients exhibited higher dry matter production, pod length (10.46 cm), number of seeds per pod (7.56), test weight (12.56 g), seed yield (13.25 g plant-1) and seed protein (21.82%). These results suggest that vermicompost application with 3% foliar spray of Panchagavya has a positive effect on improving the high-temperature tolerance of cowpea plants.