Cowpea

AAMIR ALI Roll No 12

Leaning OutcomesIntroduction

Nutrition Content

Production/Yeild

Anti-nutritional factors

Inclusion Level

Price Per Kg

INTRODUCTION•Common Names:

Cowpea; Black-eyed bean, Horse bean, Black-eyed pea, Southern pea, Yard long bean, Asparagus bean

•Scientific Name:Vigna unguiculata

PurposeGrown for seeds ,green pods, animal fodder and organic green manure.

INTRODUCTION• Leguminous crop, has the useful ability to fix atmospheric

nitrogen through its root nodules.

Morphology Grow 15-80 cm high • Leaves

Alternate, trifoliate, the lateral leaflets are opposite and asymmetrical. Central leaflet is symmetrical.• Flowers

White, cream, yellow, or purple.

Morphology• Pods

10-23 cm long with 10-15 seeds/pod.• Seeds

Square to oblong and variously coloured, including white, brown, maroon, cream and green.

Nutritive Content

• Crude protein : 22.30%

• Crude fat : 2.10%

• Crude fibre : 4.10%

• Total ash : 3.77%

• Carbohydrate : 60.07%

Production• Cowpeas are cultivated on 12.5 million hectares and worldwide

production is 3 million tonnes.

• Climate: Warm season crop, cannot stand cold weather and cannot tolerate heavy rainfall. • Varieties of Cowpea

Pusa Phalguni : summer cropPusa Barsati : rainy season crop Pusa Dofasli : summer as well as rainy season crop.

• Soil and its PreparationGrow very well in sandy and sandy loam soilsGive five to six ploughings before planting the cowpea seeds.

Production• Seed Rate

16 to 21 kg/ha.

• Sowing season of Cowpea seeds The time of sowing depends on type of crop.

i. Spring season Cowpea crop: February to March.ii. Kharif season Cowpea crop: May to Juneiii. Rabi season Cowpea crop: October to November

• Manures and Fertilizers in Cowpea Farming5 tonnes of well decomposed compost (Field Yard Manure)is used in the main fields along with basal application of 45kg urea and 120kg super phosphate per acre.

Production• Water Supply in Cowpea Farming

No irrigation is given in rainy season crop. But if grown earlier, the crop is irrigated whenever it is required. About three to four irrigation may be given before rainfall.

• HarvestingReady for harvesting in 3 to 4 months for short duration crop and 4 months to 5 months for long duration crop tender pods should be harvested.

• Yield of Cowpea Cowpea yield about 40 to 70 quintal green pods / ha.

Anti-nutritional Factors

• PhytatePhytate can significantly influence the functional properties of foods. • Tannin

Tannins are complex poly phenolic compounds that have a large influence on nutritive value of forage legumes.

• Trypsin inhibitor It affect the nutritive value and protein digestibility.

Inclusion Level In different Species• 150 or 300 g/d cowpea haulms for sheep.

• 200 g/d is considered to be economical for ruminants.

Price Per Kg • Cowpea (Bush types including Anaswara)= 600.00/Rs

• Cowpea (Kanakamony) =350.00/Rs

References• BLADE, S. F., SHETTY, S. V. R., TERAO, T. & SINGH, B. B. (1997)

Recent developments in cowpea cropping systems research. IN SINGH, B.B., MOHAN RAJ, D. R., DASHIELL, K. E. & JACKAI, L. E. N. (Eds.) Advances in Cowpea Research. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences.

• SINGH, B. B., MOHAN, D. R., DASHIELL, K. E. & JACKAI, L. E. N. (1997) Advances in Cowpea Research, IITA, Ibadan Nigeria, International Institutre of Tropical Agriculture

• Wikipedia • biopublisher.ca