Abstract
Three field trials (2009, 2010 and 2011) were established at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (7°38′N, 3°88′E; 450 m asl). The trials aimed to evaluate the performance of cowpea cultivars of contrasting maturity class in the derived savanna. Four short and seven medium duration (local check inclusive) cowpea cultivars were sown in a randomised complete block design, replicated three times. Across the years cowpea cv. IT98K-573-2-1 (short duration) had the significantly (p < 0.05) highest seed yield (2486 kg ha-1), an observation that could be attributed to its pod yield (3651 kg ha-1), stand count (73.1) and earliness (49.22 days). Cowpea cv. IFE-98-12 (medium duration) produced significantly low pod weight (1826 kg ha-1), with the least shelling weight (613 kg ha-1) and stand count (44.87) across the years. Three clusters of cowpea cultivars were identified in Principal Component Analysis biplot. They were identified based on their superior performance on seed yield, duration of development and dry fodder weight for short duration, medium duration and local check, respectively. It is concluded that these attributes could form the basis of their use and crop improvement programme in the derived savanna.Keywords: Earliness, medium duration, shelling weight, short duration
Highlights
Cowpea is widely grown in the West Africa sub-region
IT98K573-2-1 had the highest seed yield (2486 kg ha-1) which could be attributed to its pod yield (3651 kg ha-1), stand count (73.1) and comparative earliness (49.22 days)
Variation in the performance of cowpea cultivars of contrasting maturity class was explained by principal components (PC) 1 (81.17%) and PC 2 (17.16%)
Summary
Cowpea is widely grown in the West Africa sub-region. As a legume, it is a major component of the cropping system for its ability to biologically fix atmospheric nitrogen (Quin, 1997). There is dearth of information on the performance of some recently released improved cowpea cultivars of contrasting maturity class in the derived savanna Results from this investigation would allow farmers to cultivate the most suitable cowpea cultivar for this ecology, just as the data on yield (fodder or a grain legume or both) would guide them on the utilisation of the cowpea. Information obtained from this trial would further guide breeders in cowpea improvement programme in the country. This trial was carried out to investigate the performance of cowpea cultivars of different maturity class in the derived savanna
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