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International Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science

Vol. 5(2), pp. 398-402, August, 2018. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2167-0449

Research Article

Evaluation of Improved Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L)

Varieties for Adaptation and Yield Performance in Southern
Tigray Lowlands, Ethiopia
*Teame Gereziher1, Lemma Diriba2, Betselot Molla3
1,2,3
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research-Mekoni Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 71, Maichew,
Tigray, Ethiopia
This study was carried out to evaluate and identify adapted improved cowpea (Vigna unguiculata
(L.) Walp.) (Fabaceae) varieties in southern tigray lowlands of Ethiopia. A field experiment was
conducted during the 2016 and 2017 main cropping seasons using a randomized complete block
design with three replications to evaluate three improved cowpea varieties for yield and yield
related traits under rain-fed conditions at Mekoni Agricultural Research Center site and Kara
Adisheho farmer’s field. Analysis of variance showed that all the traits measured were statistically
significant at 5% level of probability except plant height. The earliest days to 90% maturity (79
days) were observed for the variety Kenkety, whereas the longest was recorded by bole variety
(89.6 days). Similarly, Kenkety variety filled their seeds in a short period of time (25 days)
compared to Assebot and Bole varieties (29; 32 days). The highest pooled mean grain yield was
obtained from Kenkety variety (1958 kgha-1), while Assebot and Bole had the lowest yield of 1656
and 1481 kgha-1 respectively. When we see variety × location wise mean, still Kenkety variety
outsmarts in both locations over the varieties and Kara Adisheho were suitable for cowpea
production with (2128 kgha-1) grain yield. Taken as a whole, Kenkety variety over weights Assebot
and Bole varieties especially for the two main traits of earliness and yield performance. Thus,
Kenkety was promising variety for demonstration and scaling up activities in the agro ecology.
Keywords: Cowpea, Adaptation, Yield, Varieties, Vigna unguiculata, Southern tigray

INTRODUCTION
Pulses have been acknowledged as a key source of Cowpea is a multipurpose crop; the entire plant can be
proteins (20 - 35%) with essential minerals and vitamins used for either human or livestock consumption. Its major
(Fall et al.., 2003; Girma et al.., 2005). Among the pulses, importance is to the livelihoods of millions of relatively poor
cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) (Fabaceae) is a people in less developed countries of the tropics.
dicotyledonous plant belonging to the family Fabaceae According to the emphasis by Islam et al.., (2006), all parts
and sub-family, Fabiodeae (Agbogidi, 2010). of the plant are used as food, which as a nutritious
providing protein and vitamins. Immature pods and seeds
Cowpea is of vital importance to the livelihood of millions
are used as vegetables while several snacks and main
of people in West and Central Africa. From its production,
dishes are prepared from the grains (Agbogidi and Egho,
rural families derive food, animal feed, and cash income. It
2012; Pottorff et al., 2012).
provides nutritious grain and an inexpensive source of
protein for both rural poor and urban consumers. Cowpea
grain contains about 25% protein and 64% carbohydrate
and therefore has a tremendous potential to contribute to
the alleviation of malnutrition among resource-poor
farmers. Its young leaves, pods and seeds contain *Corresponding Author: Teame Gereziher, Ethiopian
vitamins and minerals which have fuelled its usage for Institute of Agricultural Research-Mekoni Agricultural
human consumption and animal feeding and the scorched Research Center, Ethiopia. Email: fiamieta21@gmail.com
Co-Authors Email: 2lemmadiriba@gmail.com,
seeds are occasionally used as a coffee substitute 3betselotm21@gmail.com
(Bressani, 1985; Ogbemudia et al.., 2010).
Evaluation of Improved Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) Varieties for Adaptation and Yield Performance in Southern Tigray Lowlands, Ethiopia
Gereziher et al. 399
Mulgeta et al. (2016) stated that, In Northern Ethiopia
mainly Amhara Region, cowpea is primarily used for
human food in the form of boiled grains (Nifro), bread (Kita)
and as constituent for various sauces like Shiro wet. As
reported by Ayana et al.., (2013) Integration of cowpea
with the prevailing farming system using native cowpea
variety could have significant importance in improving soil
fertility and productivity, improving feed quality and
withstands the impact of climate change. The species has
a unique ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen with its nodules
and performs well even in poor soils with more than 85%
sand, less than 0.2% organic matter and low levels of
phosphorus (Bilatu et al.., 2012).
Tessema and Eshetayehu (2006) reported that cowpea is
a warm-weather crop with somewhat higher temperature
requirement than maize. It is an annual legume grown
throughout the semi-arid tropics, where it is valued and
potential to produce high levels of fodder for livestock in
addition to grain for people. Its dual-purpose character,
weeds suppressing ability, positive impact on soil
properties, drought tolerance and being a warm weather
crop makes cowpea an attractive and promising forage
species in a typical tropical lowland climate. It is usually
better adapted to drought, high temperatures and other
biotic stresses than other crop plant species (Kuykendall
et al.., 2000; Hall et al.., 2002)
In Southern tigray lowlands, chick pea (Cicer arietinum L.)
an important legume crop predominantly produced by the
farmers. Lentil (Lens culinaris L.), Abyssinia pea (Pisum
sativum var. abyssinicum) and Grass pea (Lathyrus sativs
L.) are grown by few farmers as minor pulse crops.
Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and Groundnut (Arachis
hypogaea L.) are also grown by some farmers in the area.
Thus, there is a need from the research community to
introduce and expand potential lowland pulses both in
types of crops and area production. For this reason, this
study was proposed to identify best performing and
adaptable improved varieties of cowpea for their yielding
ability in the moisture stressed areas of Southern tigray
lowlands.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Description of the Study Area
The experiment was conducted in Raya Valley, Northern
Ethiopia at two locations: at research station of Mehoni
Agricultural Research center (Fachagama) located at 12°
41'50''N; 39° 42'08''E and at farmer’s land of Kara
Adisheho 12°40’48” N and 39°41’06”E for two years during
2016 and 2017 main seasons. The first location receives a
mean annual rainfall of 540 mm whereas the latter is 565
mm. The average minimum and maximum temperature of
22 and 32°C, respectively. The dominant soil type of the
two locations is clay loam with pH of 7.8-8.2.
Evaluation of Improved Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) Varieties for Adaptation and Yield Performance in Southern Tigray Lowlands, Ethiopia
Treatments and Experimental Design
Three released varieties of cowpea namely Bole, Assebot
and Kenkety were used for the study. The design of the
experiment was Randomized Complete Block Design
(RCBD) with three replications (Gomez and Gomez,
1984). The plot size was 4m × 2.4m (9.6m2) having 6 rows
with harvestable plot size of 4m × 1.6m (6.4 m2) and a
spacing of 40cm between rows and 10cm between plants.
1.5m between replication and leave 0.5m between plots
was maintained. 100kg of Diammonium phosphate was
homogeneously applied for all treatments during sowing
time. Management practices like weeding, watering and
thinning were done uniformly to all plots as per
recommendations for both locations.
Data Collection and Statistical Analysis
Data was collected from the two locations for two years.
Data on plant basis: plant height (cm), number of pods per
plant, number of seeds per pod, and on plot basis: days to
50% flowering, days to maturity, seed filling period, grain
yield (kg ha-1), 100 seed weight (g) were appropriately
collected. All collected data were subjected to analysis of
variance (ANOVA) using GenStat computer package
version 14.1 at P<0.05 (Payne et al., 2011). When there
was a significant difference among the treatment means
the least significant difference (LSD) was used to compare
the mean separation at P<0.05 (Steel and Torrie, 1986).
Table 1: Some characteristics of the improved varieties of
cowpea used in the experiment
Variety Year of Area of Adaptation Maturity Yield
release Altitude-m Rain fall- days potential
mm (kg)
Bole 2005 1300-1850 350-1100 86-95 1500-2000
Assebot 2008 1300-1650 350-750 75-85 1700-2000
Kenkety 2012 1000-1650 350-750 60-75 1800-2000
Source: (MoARD, 2016)
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Phenology and growth parameters
The combined analysis of variance showed that varieties
performed significantly differently (P<0.001) for
phenological and growth traits (days to 50% flowering and
pod filling period) for variety, year and location, while days
to 90% maturity and pod filling period exerts significance
difference (P<0.001) for variety × location × year
interaction effects, but plant height exerts non-significant
to all (Table 2).
 Int. J. Plant Breed. Crop Sci. 400

Table 2: ANOVA for Mean Square of Phenology and correspondingly. Similarly, grain yield per hectare
Growth Traits indicated the presence of very highly significantly
SV DF DF 50% DM 90% PFP PH (cm) (P<0.001) difference influenced by variety, year and
Rep 2 8.6 1.6 5.25 30.08 location effects, while all traits were non-significant by the
Variety 2 30.3*** 320.25*** 149.25*** 111.15ns interaction effects except number of pods per plant and
Year 1 21.8*** 5.44 ns 51.4*** 308.6 ns grain yield (Table 4).
Loc 1 75.1*** 1.00 ns 66.7*** 25.3 ns
Var*Year 2 1.44 ns 4.7 ns 9.53* 45.35 ns Table 4: ANOVA for mean square of yield and yield
Var*Loc 2 0.44 ns 1.6 ns 0.86 ns 48.5 ns components
Year*Loc 1 4.0 ns 5.4 ns 0.25 ns 114.5 ns SV DF NPP NSP HSW GY (kg ha-1)
Var*Yr*Loc 2 1.0 ns 10.03** 15.25** 14.7ns (gm)
Residual 22 1.43 1.6 2.28 35.6 Rep 2 6.04 1.16 0.93 259394
Total 35 Variety 2 30.36*** 17.72*** 1.33ns 697660***
Where; ns = non significant at (P>0.05), * = significant at Year 1 0.07 ns 57.5*** 0.07 ns 554780**
(P≤0.05), ** = significant at (P≤0.01), *** = significant at Loc 1 102.7*** 2.0ns 16.54* 6656310***
(P≤0.001) probability level, SV = Source of Variation, DF = Var*Year 2 1.65 ns 4.83 ns 6.46 ns 41008ns
Degree of Freedom, DF 50% = Days to 50% flowering, DM Var*Loc 2 1.6 ns 2.83 ns 3.11 ns 183344*
90% = Days to 90% maturity, PFP = Pod Filling Period, PH Year*Loc 1 17.64* 1.48 ns 0.25 ns 1736ns
= Plant Height in Centimeter. Var*Yr*Loc 2 0.67 ns 3.66 ns 0.78ns 68063ns
Residual 22 2.4 1.74 3.4 71243
The earliest days to 50% flowering and 90% maturity (54 Total 35
and 79 days) were observed for the variety Kenkety, Where, ns = non significant at (P>0.05), * = significant at
whereas the longest was recorded by bole variety (57 and (P≤0.05), ** = significant at (P≤0.01), *** = significant at
89.6 days) respectively. Similarly, Kenkety variety filled (P≤0.001) probability level, SV = Source of Variation, DF =
their seeds in a short period of time (25 days) compared to Degree of Freedom, NPP = Number of pods per plant,
Assebot and Bole varieties. This could be due to difference NSP = Number of seeds per pod, HSW = Hundred seed
the genetic potential in phenological and growth weight in gram, GY = Grain yield per hectare in kg.
parameters of the varieties (Table 3).
The number of pods per plant ranged from 8.3 to 11.3. The
The obtained result was also in line with the works of highest number of pods per plant was obtained from
(Fantaye et al., 2017; Tekle, 2014) who reported that Kenkety followed by Assebot and number of seeds per pod
combined analysis of variance showed that varieties also recorded highest at Kenkety variety (12.07) while the
performed significantly differently for all the phenological lowest number of seeds per pod was obtained at Bole.
and growth traits (days to 50% flowering, pod filling period, Based on the combined mean, Kenkety had the highest
50% maturity and plant height. seed yield of 1958 kgha-1, while Bole had the lowest yield
of 1481 kgha-1(Table 5). In the interaction effect, in both
Table 3: Combined mean values of phenological and locations and years still Kenkety variety over weight bole
growth traits of cowpea varieties and Assebot varieties (Table 6). This specifies that yield
Variety DF DM PFP PH (cm) and yield components were highly affected by varieties.
Bole 57.33a 89.58a 32.17a 60.33a The current variations in yield and yield related traits
Assebot 55.50b 85.58b 29.42b 56.47a among varieties consent with previous reports of (Fantaye
Kenkety 54.17c 79.33c 25.17c 54.32a et al., 2017; Negasu et al., 2017 and Tekle, 2014) in
LSD 2.03 2.1 2.56 10.10 cowpea.
CV (%) 2.1 1.5 5.2 10.5
Means with the same letters within the columns are not Table 5: Combined mean values of yield and yield
significantly different at P <0.05. DF = Days to 50% components of cowpea varieties
flowering, DM = Days to 90% maturity, PFP = Pod Filling Variety NPP NSP HSW GY (kg
Period (DM – DF), PH = Plant height in cm, LSD= Least (gm) ha-1)
Significant Difference, CV = Coefficient of Variation. Bole 8.3b 9.67b 14.13a 1481b
Assebot 8.9b 11.21a 14.62a 1656b
Yield and yield components Kenkety 11.3a 12.07a 13.99a 1958a
LSD 2.63 2.23 3.13 452
Significant (P≤0.05) varietal difference was observed for CV (%) 16.3 12 13 15.7
yield and all yield related traits except hundred seed weight Where, Means followed by the same letter(s) in the column
(Table 3). The results from the analysis of variance for are not significantly different at 5% level of significance,
number of pods per plant and number of seeds per pod NPP = Number of pods per plant, NSP = Number of seeds
showed very highly significant (P<0.001) difference in per pod, HSW = Hundred seed weight in gram, GY = Grain
variety and location effects and variety and year effects yield per hectare in kg.
Evaluation of Improved Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) Varieties for Adaptation and Yield Performance in Southern Tigray Lowlands, Ethiopia
Gereziher et al. 401

Table 6: Interaction effect of variety by location and year and yield in both locations and years. In addition, Kara
on grain yield Adisheho environment were better compared to
Variety Grain yield (kgha-1) Grain yield Fachagama for cowpea growers. As southern tigray
(kgha-1) lowlands were prone to moisture stress, varieties with
Fachagama Kara 2016 2017 early maturity and high yield potential were suggested for
Adisheho demonstration. In contrast to Assebot and Bole, Kenkety
Bole 979b 1983a 1396a 1566b were therefore recommended as promising varieties to the
Assebot 1155b 2156a 1560a 1752b farmers of Southern tigray lowlands and other districts
Kenkety 1670a 2245a 1766a 2149a having the same agro ecologies based on its earliness and
LSD 319.6 319.6 319.6 319.6 optimal performance for yield.
CV (%) 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7
Where, Means followed by the same letter(s) in the column CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
are not significantly different at 5% level of probability,
LSD= Least Significant Difference, CV = Coefficient of The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.
Variation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors thank EIAR-Mekoni Agricultural Research
Center for financial support and experimental materials
provision.

Figure 1: Mean grain yield kg ha-1 of three cowpea
varieties by Location
The observed performance in both locations (Figure 1)
showed wide differences in the yield performance. The
mean grain yield in Kara Adisheho was 2128 kg ha-1
whereas; in Fachagama site the mean yield record was
1268 kg ha-1. This could be due to variation in
environmental factors that contribute for crop production.
Thus, Kara Adisheho environment was ideal for cowpea
production compared to Fachagama area. This indicated
the diversity of locations and years and presence of
considerable genetic differences among the varieties for
seed yield performance. Genotype by Environment is a
disparity phenotypic performance of genetically
homogeneous genotypes crosswise test environments. It
arises because different genotypes have unstable genetic
potentials to adjust themselves to changeable
environments (Ashango et al., 2016).
CONCLUSION
From the study carried out, the following can be concluded;
from the three tested cowpea varieties, a combined
maximum mean yield of 1958 kgha-1 was gained from
Kenkety and a least yield of 1481 kgha-1 for Bole. Also, the
mean grain yield of 2128 kgha-1 for varieties of cowpea
was obtained in Kara Adisheho, while Fachagama location
scored 1268 kgha-1. Kenkety variety outsmarts in earliness
Evaluation of Improved Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) Varieties for Adaptation and Yield Performance in Southern Tigray Lowlands, Ethiopia
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Citation: Gereziher T, Diriba L, Molla B (2018). Evaluation
of Improved Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) Varieties for
Adaptation and Yield Performance in Southern Tigray
Lowlands, Ethiopia. International Journal of Plant Breeding
and Crop Science 5(2): 398-402.
Copyright: © 2018 Gereziher et al. This is an open-
access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
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