Phenotypic Diversity of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) Based on Shorter Cooking Time and Canning Quality Traits

Abstract

Cowpea is a leguminous crop rich in protein. Despite its nutritional quality, the crop is underutilized due to its prolonged cooking time requiring energy to make it palatable. This study investigated the adaptation capacity, cooking time and canning quality of a panel of 94 accessions of cowpea obtained from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IITA, Ibadan and Rumukoro Market Port Harcourt Nigeria. Seeds were planted at the Department of Crop and Soil Science Research Farm and Allu Town, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The experimental design was randomized complete block design (RCBD) in three replicates for three seasons (early wet, late wet and dry season). Agronomic Parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, leave length, leave width, and the flowering date was collected at two weekly intervals after weeks of planting. The cooking evaluation was carried out using a digital cooker (Tower Product), while canning quality was evaluated using a cost-effective sealer. Results obtained showed that cowpea adapted to the three seasons with optimal performance observed in the late wet season. The cooking results showed that TVU-2, TVU-8, TVU-9, TVU-13, TVU, 21, TVU29, TVU-36, TUV-38, iron white, akara bean, iron brown and honey bean had short cooking time while TVU-2, TVU-13, TVU-26, TVU-37, TVU-38, TVU-45, TVU-50 and TVU-51 had good canning quality. It is recommended that the selected accessions for better agronomic and culinary quality traits can be used for cowpea breeding programmes.