Forage production and conservation manual growing and ensiling annual and perennial forage crops suited to marginal and semiarid areas of southern africa o. The two most important ones in africa are blackeye cowpea mosaic virus blcmv and cowpea aphidborne mosaic virus cabmv. The major grain legumes for subsaharan africa ssa and south asia sa include chickpea cicer arietinum, common bean phaseolus vulgaris, cowpea vigna unguiculata, groundnut arachis hypogaea, pigeonpea. Cowpea production guidelines zambia agribusiness society. From its production, rural families derive food, animal feed, and cash income. In part, this is because marketing research has focused on export crops such as cocoa.
Worldwide production of cowpeas is approximately 20 million acres. There are at least seven other viruses which infect cowpea in africa, including some that produce a mottling of leaves similar to a mosaic. The cowpea is an important legume crop in malawi and has been adapted to a wide variety of local conditions, particularly in the warmer, drier areas in the south of the country the lower shire valley, bwanje valley, lakeshore and phalombe plains, as well as dry plateau areas of machinga. Effect of phosphorus fertilizer on growth and yield of. Production of cowpeas in kwazulunatal neil van rij. In africa information on cowpea marketing and trade is lacking and data on cowpea production economics scattered. In these regions, the area of cowpea production extends in a westerly direction from cameroon through senegal, lying. Although there are naturally occurring rhizobia capable of inoculating cowpea in most south african soils, it is advisable to inoculate the seed before planting to.
The demand for cowpeas is increasing in ghana because of high population growth, mainly in urban areas. In particular, weevils postharvest pests can destroy a granary full of cowpea in two or three months. Production areas in south africa cowpea is grown in the following provinces. The production guide is meant to provide field based agricultural extension personnel and farmers with quick reference material to guide them in the promotion of cowpea production. Importance of cowpea production contd cowpea is produced in the arid and semiarid zones.
Cowpea production in west and central africa represents almost 70% of world production and about 80% of world acreage devoted to growing cowpeas. It is designed to serve as a basic reference document for participants in ilas cowpea production training courses. Research article nodulation, nitrogen fixation and growth of. Increasing utilization of cowpeas to promote health and. Production guidelines for cowpeas agricultural research council. There is limited information available on cowpea production. Others believe that it originated from southern africa. The largest production is in africa, with nigeria and niger predominating, but brazil, haiti, india, myanmar, sri lanka, australia, the u.
Brazil is the worlds secondleading producer of cowpea seed, accounting for 17% of annual cowpea production, although most is consumed within the country. Cultural practices propagation cowpea is grown directly from seed. It is grown extensively in the low lands and midaltitude regions of africa particularly in the dry savanna sometimes as sole. Cowpea is a drought tolerant crop that has a major potential as a nutrition and food security crop in africa. The trading of seeds and processed foods from cowpea provides both urban and rural opportunities for earning regular income. As with many other grain crops grown in the semiarid tropics, the cowpea post production system in developing countries is an important constraint. The 20022003 work plan specifies that an initial step in that study will be to describe bean and cowpea market structure in the area where malawi and mozambique share borders.
Cowpea is eaten by deer as forage, and is commonly used in food plots for deer. Limpopo, gauteng, mpumalanga, north west and kwazulunatal. However, farmers in south africa currently lack good seed for planting and experience very low cowpea grain yields. In these regions, the area of cowpea production extends in a. Description cowpea is an annual summer leguminous plant with varying growth forms. Information on genetic variability among the existing cowpea genotypes will increase the efficiency of the cowpea improvement. In africa, cowpea production appears generally profitable, but return. The effect of planting date on maizecowpea production 3 1. Advances in cowpea improvement at the agricultural research council arcgrain crops institute, potchefstroom, south africa. Cultivated cowpea in south sudan and africa at large is a single species, but the varietal requirements in terms of plant type, seed type, maturity and usage are extremely diverse from region. Grain legumes production, consumption and trade trends in developing countries working paper series no. One of the biggest advantages of the cowpea is its. Introduction on the basis of area cultivated, cowpea is the most important food legume in ghana.
There are no records with regard to the size of area under production and the quanti ties produced internationally. Rainfall of 450mm year will be sufficient to produce 1t seed ha and 4t hayha. All the evidences indicate that cowpea originated in africa. Outside africa, the major production areas are asia, central america, and south america. Evaluation of four mozambican cowpea landraces for drought. Cowpea can be regarded as the fulcrum of sustainable farming in semiarid lands. The 20022007 proposal for the beancowpea crsp eastern and southern africa region outlines a plan to study bean and cowpea marketing in the region. The set is designed to encourage group discusson as well as provide information on production techniques of. The bulk of production occurs in the savannah regions of northern ghana, although cowpea can be grown in all ecological zones of ghana. Maasdorp department of crop science, university of zimbabwe m. Cowpea vigna unguiculata seed production module training set facilitators guide this guide will help you use the cowpea seed production module training set. Titterton department of animal science, university of zimbabwe april 2002. Its production has spread to east and central africa, india, asia, south and central america.
It is predominantly grown by smallscale farmers in west africa, where the crop is crucial to the livelihood and health of the. Cowpea varieties, growth, yield parameters, asaba, nigeria. The most damaging diseases for cowpea are caused by viruses and represent significant proportion of losses regarding the potential value of the crop in subsaharan africa 5. Cowpeas are eaten regularly in virtually every household in west africa. The largest production of cowpea is in africa with nigeria and niger predominating with over 9. Description cowpea is an annual summer leguminous plant with varying. Cowpea plays a vital role as a source of livelihood for millions of people in west and central africa. In burkina faso, multilocation trials are being conducted in farako ba and kamboinse.
Cowpea supply and demand in west and central africa. Grain legumes production, consumption and trade trends in. Background to cowpea production and consumption in west and southern africa. Evaluation of eight varieties of cowpea vigna unguiculata.
Cowpea is an important grain legume in south africa after groundnuts and dry beans asiwe, 2009. Cowpea leaves are sold in zambia, south africa, ghana, mali, benin, cameroon, ethiopia, uganda. Discussions ranged over a wide spectrum of issues related to improving cowpea productivity and utilization in africa. Despite the dramatic increase in cowpea production in the subsaharan africa, cowpea yields remain. Conditions for growing cowpea rainfall 250500 mm of well distributed rainfall during the growing season is adequate for cowpea production.
It is distributed from east and central africa to india, asia. Cowpeas are droughttolerant and can be produced in areas where very few other crops would survive. The study was conducted in two locations in limpopo province, with each. Some varieties of cowpea are used specifically for wildlife purposes ball et al. Cowpea, a legume crop native to africa is an important annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, especially in subsaharan africa, asia and central and south america 7. As with many other grain crops grown in the semiarid tropics, the cowpea postproduction system in developing countries is an important constraint. The aim of this study was to evaluate 97 newly introduced cowpea germplasm for adaptation and yield parameters. Amanda minnaar, university of pretoria, south africa. Cultivated cowpea in south sudan and africa at large is a single. The major areas of production in central and west africa, which account for about 89 % of the total area of world production, are nigeria, niger, mali, burkina faso.
Gm and seed industry eye africas lucrative cowpea seed markets 7 functioning biosafety regime, multilocation trials were conducted in zaria, minijibir and bajura during 2014, to generate data in order to support an application for general release. As a legume, cowpea fixes its own nitrogen, and rarely requires nitrogen fertiliser. It is important because it serves as a source of nutrients for human and as fodder for animals and its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen enhances soil fertility. Objection to the application from lilongwe university of. Constraints to cowpea production and utilization in sub. Field experiments were conducted at the agricultural research councilroodeplaat vegetable and ornamental plant institute in south africa, in 2011 and 2012, to estimate the level of phenotypic variability among a collection of 25 cowpea genotypes. Introduction cowpea is a dicotyledonous plant belonging to the family fabaceae and subfamily, fabiodeae. Gm and seed industry eye africas lucrative cowpea seed markets.
Legume seeds famously deliver the amino acids needed to grow or repair proteinbased tissues such as brain, nerve, and muscle, as well as to. A variety of birds, including wild turkey, eat the seeds and the plant can be used by quail as cover. Bean cowpea crsp west africa, social science report aprilsept. It is distributed from east and central africa to india, asia, south and central america. Beancowpea crsp west africa, social science report aprilsept. In addition evidence indicates that legumes may contain. Nigeria is one of the worlds largest producer of cowpea with an average production of 2. Cowpea, popularly known as blackeye pea, is an important grain legume in south africa and many parts of subsaharan africa. Nigeria is the largest producer and consumer of cowpea with about 5 million ha and over 2 million t production during 2003. There are several viruses associated with mosaic symptoms on cowpea. The meeting produced the following results and plan of action.
Importance of cowpea to the livelihoods of smallholder. Being indigenous to africa, a number of plant types that are cultivated in the major growing. South africa cowpea suppliers, wholesale prices, and. Considering all the protein sources that might possibly help africas malnourished millions, none seems more promising or more practical than grain legumes. Cowpea production in south africa is fairly minor when compared to other african countries faostat 2004. Cowpea suppliers in south africa by specifications. The report presents an overview of the situation and outlook for cowpea and soybean as a basis for the tropical legumes ii project in west mali, niger, and nigeria, east tanzania and kenya, and southern malawi and mozambique africa. Fertilisation fertiliser application in cowpea production depends on anticipated yield and soil fertility. It may be erect, trailing, climbing or bushy, usually indeterminate under favourable conditions. Africa, there is a need to increase food production to avoid food insecurity. Book of abstracts, combined conference of south african society of crop production and soil science society of south africa, 1619 january, 2012, potchefstroom, south africa.
1113 1501 1240 678 1196 719 655 950 773 513 34 646 1457 1489 994 120 479 1279 1383 311 1274 195 284 1198 1387 1478 1237 1077 136 319 327 457 1224 876 1129 1156 1463 1253