YIELD AND YIELD RELATED COMPONENTS OF COWPEA AS INFLUENCED BY PLANTING DATE, CULTIVAR AND SPRAYING

Cowpea is attacked by a variety of insect pests that wreak havoc on the crop in the field at various phases of development, occasionally resulting in crop failure. During the 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons, an experiment was conducted using five improved cowpea cultivars and one local check, two planting dates, and two spraying regimes across two major agro-climatic zones to reduce insect pest damage, increase cowpea grain yield, and other yield-related components. The study used a randomised full block design with three replications at three different locations: Sumbuya, Serabu, and Nguala.

The effect of cultivar, planting date, and spraying regime on the measured parameters was highly significant, according to the results. On the evaluated parameters, the interaction effect of cultivar, planting date, and spraying regime was also significant. In sprayed plots, grain yield, pod load, and biomass were all higher than in unsprayed plots. Planting in September also resulted in better grain output and pod load. Furthermore, all of the enhanced kinds outperformed the native variety in terms of yield.

When compared to the local variety, all of the enhanced types had shorter days to 50% blooming and maturity, with spraying plots flowering and maturing earlier when planted in September rather than June

These findings suggest that combining cowpea cultivar and planting date with minimum insecticide application will reduce cowpea insect pests across Sierra Leone's key agro-ecological zones, resulting in increased grain production and other yield-related components of cowpea.

Please see the link :- https://www.ikprress.org/index.php/AJAAS/article/view/4963