A

GENETIC RESOURCES: STATUS, PROBLEMS, AND PROSPECTS

LIWANAG, IRISH D. AGRONOMY 152-T 1L

COW PEA

Cowpea Vigna unguiculata L. Walp Paayap Considered to have originated in Africa Widely grown in africa, latin America, Southeast Asia, Southern United States

COW PEA

Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae

Genus :Vigna
Species: unguiculata

COW Four cultivated subspecies are PEA recognised:

1. Vigna unguiculata subsp. cylindrica Catjang 2. Vigna unguiculata subsp. dekindtiana African Cowpea 3. Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis Yardlong bean 4. Vigna unguiculata

COW BIOLOGY PEA Warm-season annual legume

Leaf is somewhat shiny and flower color is either purple, white or yellow Seed color is diverse, ranging from white, black, brown, purple to various types of mottled seed Pod length is from 20 to 30cm Pod attaches sideward or downward to the peduncle. Length of seed is 6 to 10mm

COW Uses PEA

Weed control
grows quickly and will shade and smother Weeds may outcompete them for soil moisture and nutrients

COW Uses PEA

Attract beneficial insects

extrafloral nectaries on petioles and leaflets; nourishes beneficial insects such as honeybees, lady beetles, predatory wasps, ants,

COW Uses PEA

Feed and Food

when grown to maturity can be used as a feed (grazed or harvested for fodder), or its pods can be harvested and eaten as a vegetable seed is valued as a nutritional supplement to cereals and an extender of animal proteins.

COW PEA

Table 1. Nutrient content of mature cowpea Protein Fat Fiber Carbohydrate Thiamine Riboflavin 24.8% 1.9% 6.3% 63.6% 0.00074% 0.00042%

Niacin

0.00281%

COW diversity Germplasm PEA IITA holds the largest

cowpea germplasm collection 15,115 accessions were collected all over the world 10, 814 were collected from Africa alone

COW Germplasm diversity PEA

Improved varieties in 63 countries
some of which have been given popular local names such as Vijaya (victory) and Varuni (breeze) in Sri Lanka; Akash (sky) and Prakash (light) in Nepal; Big Buff in Australia; Fahari (hope) and Tumaini (pride) in Tanzania;

COW diversity Germplasm PEA Various tools are

currently used to analyze Vigna diversity: Isozymes for wild Vigna SSR for primary gene pool SNP for

COW Genetic Extent of Erosion PEA

diseases, insect pests, nematodes, and parasitic

COW Genetic Extent of Erosion PEA

Every stage in the life cycle of cowpea has at least one major insect pest. Aphids (Aphis craccivora) attack cowpea especially in the

COW Genetic Extent of Erosion PEA flower thrips

(Megalurothrips sjostedti) at flowering, pod borer (Maruca vitrata) at flowering and pod formation, a complex of podsucking bugs at podding, and the weevil

COW Genetic Extent of Erosion PEA

Cowpea is susceptible to several fungal, bacterial, and viral

COW PEA

Cercospora leaf spot, ashy stem blight, bacterial blight, blackeye cowpea mosaic potyvirus (BICMV), cowpea aphid-borne mosaic potyvirus (CABMV), and cowpea mosaic comovirus (CPMV). Cowpea plants are also attacked by the parasitic flowering plants Striga gesnerioides and Alectra

COW PEA

GERMPLASM CONSERVATION IITAs Genetic Resources Center (GRC) 28,000 accessions

Over 50% of the collection is made of cowpea collected from 89 countries, mainly in Africa, and other Vigna spp. It is also the most shared, with 54 of all the germplasm materials being distributed.

IITA maintains a collection of about 15,000 accessions of cultivated cowpea and 1,500 accessions of wild cowpea relatives in its gene bank. cowpea is maintained in two storage conditions, medium (5C) and long-term (-20C) at an optimal water content of 78% fresh weight basis. The viability of most accessions stored at 20C for 25 years remains as high as 90%.

COWIN PROBLEMS GERMPLASM PEA CONSERVATIO

N

US$358,143 and $28,217 was spent annually on the conservation and management of cowpea and wild Vigna.
Each accession cost about $72 for cowpea and only about half of that for wild Vigna

Seed health testing

COW ECONOMICAL PEA AND POLITICAL

ASPECTS OF CROP GERMPLASM

estimated the annual world cowpea crop at 12.5 million ha,

the total grain production at 3 million t 64% of the estimated 3 million t of cowpea seed produced annually

COW RECOMMENDATI PEA ON

One way to reduce these costs is by increasing the number of accessions, thus lowering the unit cost. Also, upgrading and expanding the current infrastructure to improve the efficiency of the genebank were recommended.