This presentation is done by 2010/2011 batch of Export Agriculture students of Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka as a requirement for the subject which is “Rice & Field Crop Production”. Note that the information included here is relevant to Sri Lankan condition.

1. COWPEA
Vigna unguiculata (L)
EXPORT AGRICULTURE
GROUP NO. 01

2. INTRODUCTION
• Botnical name :Vigna unguiculata (L)
• Family : Febaceae
• Annual herbaceous crop
• Well develop tap root system
• Origin : Africa

3. Cont’d
• well adapted to relatively dry environments
- Asia, Africa, southern Europe and Central
and South America
• In Sri Lanka
- Hambantota, Ratnapura, Badulla,
Monaragala, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala,
Puttlum, Batticalo, System 'H', Ampara,
Polonnaruwa

4. Cont’d
• One of the most important
food legume crops
• A drought-tolerant and warm-weather crop
• Has the useful ability to fix atmospheric
nitrogen through its root nodules

5. Cont’d
• Grows well in poor soils with
-more than 85% sand
-less than 0.2% organic matter
-low levels of phosphorus

6. Morphology
• Growing 15-80 cm high
• Leaves
- alternate, trifoliate
with petioles 5-25 cm long
-The lateral leaflets are opposite and
asymmetrical
-central leaflet is symmetrical
• Inflorescence
-raceme

7. Cont’d
• Flowers
- white, cream, yellow, mauve or purple
• Pods
-10-23 cm long with 10-15 seeds/pod
• Seeds
-variable in size and
shape, square to oblong and
variously coloured,
including white, brown,
maroon, cream and green

8. Nutritive content
(Per 100g of edible portion)
• Water : 11%
• Protein : 23.4%
• Fat : 1.8%
• Carbohydrate : 63.3%
• Calcium : 76mg
• Iron : 5.7mg

9. Climatic Requirement
• Soil-Can be grown on a wide range of soil
- sandy loam to clay ranging from acidic to
basic (pH 4.5 - 8.0)
-Sandy to clay loam soil and well drained with a
(pH of 6-7 )
• Cowpea are highly sensitive to water logging
• Temperature -20°c - 30°c

10. Recommended Varieties
• MI 35
• Wijaya
• Waruni
• Dhawala
• Bombay

11. MI 35
• Exhibits semi-erect growth habit
• Flowers are white in colour
• Pods are borne about the canopy
• Seeds are small and pure cream in colour
• susceptible to collar rot disease

12. Wijaya
• Erect and determinate growth
• Flowers are bluish purple in colour
• Pods are long pendulous and dark green
• Seeds are large and light brown in colour
• Resistance to collar rot disease

13. Waruni
• Erect and determinate growth habit
• It has bluish purple flowers
• It bears long pendulous dark green
pods
• Medium sized seeds and reddish
brown in colour

14. Dhawala
• Semi erect growth habit
• Flowers are white in colour
• Pods are pendulous and green in colour
• Seed are large and cream coloured with a
black eye
• Variety Dhawala is suitable for planting in will
drained paddy lands during yala season

15. Bombay
• Erect growth habit
• Flowers are purple in colour
• It posses dark green pigmented long and
pendulous pods
• seed are large and speckled grey brown in
colour
• Bombay cowpea in suitable for cultivation in
Maha season in rainfed uplands

16. Land Preparation
• One ploughing followed by a harrowing
ensures good weed control and a suitable
seed bed

17. • Seed rate
35 - 40 kg/ha
• Time of planting
Plant cowpea when there is sufficient soil
moisture for germination

18. Season of planting
• Yala - (Irrigated)
April
• Maha - ( Rainfed )
End of October- Mid November

19. Planting method
• Rain-fed plant
– flat
– raised beds
• Plant manually or with a row seeder on ridges
or flat beds depending on field drain age
• Plant one plant /hill
• spacing 30 cm rows
15 cm plants

20. Crop Management

21. Fertilizer
• Basal
N2 30 kg/ha (urea 35 kg/ha-1)
P2O5 45kg/ha (Triple super
phosphate
100kg/ha-1)
K2O 45kg/ha (Muriate of portash
75 kg/ha-1)
• Top dressing
30kg/ha of urea at onset of flowering

22. Irrigation
• Frequency of application Every 4 days during
first 3 weeks and then every 7 days
• fine-tuning irrigation schedules for cowpea
during flowering and pod-filling
• Sprinkler irrigation method

23. Weed control
• 3 and 6 weeks after planting weeding is
usually done
Weed control
methods
Chemical
Alachlor 3.3 - 3.5 l ha-1
Oxyfluorfen 0.50 - 0.75 l ha-1
Metalochlor 3.0 - 4.0 l ha-1
Manual
Usually doing

24. Pruning
• When cowpea is grown on very fertile soil or
when irrigation is excessive during the
vegetative phase
• Irrigation should be reduced or vine pruned

25. Harvesting
• Harvested at three different stages of maturity
green snaps 45-60 days after planting
 green-mature 60-90 days after planting
Dry 90-110 days after planting
• Depend on
Temperature
• Use mechanically harvesters and manually

26. Post harvest technology
• Dry cowpea seed
 Cleaned
 graded
 fumigated
 packed in small plastic bags for sale to
consumers
• Moisture content reduced up to 8-9% safe
storage

27. Pest and diseases
Diseases
Collar rot (Pythium aphanidermatum
Rhizoctonia sp, Selerotium rolfsii ,Fusariam)
• Control
i. Use a recommended fungicide as a soil
drench
ii. Avoid continuous cropping of cowpea on
the same field
iii. Avoid excessive N2 application

28. Collar rot in cowpea

29. Web blight - Rhizoctonia solani
Symptoms
• Small circular reddish brown spots on leaves
• Mycllia of Rhizoctonia solani are visible on the
under surface of leaves young stems
Control
1. Use disease free seed
2. Avoid dense planting
3. Use a fungicide recommended for
Rhizoctonia

30. web blight

31. Cowpea yellow mosaic virus
Symptoms
Leaf symptoms vary from green mottle to
severe mosaic
Leaf distortion blistering and plant death
Control
1. Use resistant cultivars
2. Plant disease free seeds
3. Control vectors with insecticides

32. Cowpea yellow mosaic virus

33. Other diseases
Anthracnose
Fungal wilt

34. PEST
• Leaf hoppers
-Dimethioate 40% E.C 490 - 700 ml
-Endosulfan 35% E.C 560 - 770 ml
• Pod borers
- Methomidophos 50% E.C 1400 - 2100 ml

35. Cont’d
Leaf hopper Pod borer
Aphids

36. Cont’d
• Aphids
• Scale bugs
• Mealy bugs
Dimethoate 910 - 1820 ml
Scale bugs Mealy bugs

37. Uses
• As a nutritional supplement to cereals and an
extender of animal proteins
• The tender green leaves are prepared as a pot
herb, like spinach
• Green cowpea seeds, Dry mature seeds are
boiled as a fresh vegetable,canned ,frozen
• used green or as dry fodder
• a green manure crop, a nitrogen fixing crop, or
for erosion control

38. Group members
• J.M.C.K.K Jayasundara UWU/EAG/11/0001
• S. Kayalvizhy UWU/EAG/11/0009
• W.A.K Wijewikrama UWU/EAG/11/0002
• A.A.I.M Amarasinghe UWU/EAG/11/OO17

39. Thank you