3. INTRODUCTION
•Common Names:
Cowpea; Black-eyed bean, Horse bean, Black-eyed pea,
Southern pea, Yard long bean, Asparagus bean
•Scientific Name:
Vigna unguiculata
Purpose
Grown for seeds ,green pods,
animal fodder and organic
green manure.
4. INTRODUCTION
• Leguminous crop, has the useful ability to fix atmospheric
nitrogen through its root nodules.
Morphology
Grow 15-80 cm high
• Leaves
Alternate, trifoliate, the lateral
leaflets are opposite and
asymmetrical.
Central leaflet is symmetrical.
• Flowers
White, cream, yellow, or purple.
5. Morphology
• Pods
10-23 cm long with 10-15 seeds/pod.
• Seeds
Square to oblong and variously
coloured, including white, brown,
maroon, cream and green.
7. Production
• Cowpeas are cultivated on 12.5 million hectares and worldwide
production is 3 million tonnes.
• Climate:
Warm season crop, cannot stand cold weather and cannot
tolerate heavy rainfall.
• Varieties of Cowpea
Pusa Phalguni : summer crop
Pusa Barsati : rainy season crop
Pusa Dofasli : summer as well as rainy season crop.
• Soil and its Preparation
Grow very well in sandy and sandy loam soils
Give five to six ploughings before planting the cowpea seeds.
8. Production
• Seed Rate
16 to 21 kg/ha.
• Sowing season of Cowpea seeds
The time of sowing depends on type of crop.
i. Spring season Cowpea crop: February to March.
ii. Kharif season Cowpea crop: May to June
iii. Rabi season Cowpea crop: October to November
• Manures and Fertilizers in Cowpea Farming
5 tonnes of well decomposed compost (Field Yard Manure)
is used in the main fields along with basal application of
45kg urea and 120kg super phosphate per acre.
9. Production
• Water Supply in Cowpea Farming
No irrigation is given in rainy season crop. But if grown earlier,
the crop is irrigated whenever it is required. About three to
four irrigation may be given before rainfall.
• Harvesting
Ready for harvesting in 3 to 4 months for short duration crop
and 4 months to 5 months for long duration crop tender pods
should be harvested.
• Yield of Cowpea
Cowpea yield about 40 to 70 quintal green pods / ha.
10. Anti-nutritional Factors
• Phytate
Phytate can significantly influence the functional properties of
foods.
• Tannin
Tannins are complex poly phenolic compounds that have a
large influence on nutritive value of forage legumes.
• Trypsin inhibitor
It affect the nutritive value and protein digestibility.
11. Inclusion Level In different
Species
• 150 or 300 g/d cowpea haulms for sheep.
• 200 g/d is considered to be economical for ruminants.
Price Per Kg
• Cowpea (Bush types including Anaswara)= 600.00/Rs
• Cowpea (Kanakamony) =350.00/Rs
12. References
• BLADE, S. F., SHETTY, S. V. R., TERAO, T. & SINGH, B. B. (1997)
Recent developments in cowpea cropping systems research.
IN SINGH, B.B., MOHAN RAJ, D. R., DASHIELL, K. E. & JACKAI, L.
E. N. (Eds.) Advances in Cowpea Research. International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Japan International
Research Center for Agricultural Sciences.
• SINGH, B. B., MOHAN, D. R., DASHIELL, K. E. & JACKAI, L. E. N.
(1997) Advances in Cowpea Research, IITA, Ibadan Nigeria,
International Institutre of Tropical Agriculture
• Wikipedia
• biopublisher.ca
