Browsing by Author "Weru, S.M. Owuoche, J.O and Kiplagat,"

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Adaptability of Cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata) Lines in Kenya Coastal Region
(Chuka University, 2017) Weru, S.M. Owuoche, J.O and Kiplagat,
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is one of the most important grain legumes grown in sub-Saharan Africa. About 12.5 million tonnes of cowpea grain are produced worldwide each year with the majority (over 94%) of the production taking place on low input, subsistence farms. This crop is most important in the semi-arid and warm areas of Africa where other crops may fail due to poor adaptation to heat, drought and low soil fertility conditions. The objective of this study is to contribute to increased food production in coastal Kenya through development of high yielding, drought tolerant and farmer acceptable cowpea lines. The experiment was conducted Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Mtwapa and its sub-centres at Msabaha and Mariakani. The agroecological zones for the sites are; coastal Lowland 3 for Mtwapa, coastal lowland 4 for Msabaha and coastal lowland 5 for Mariakani. The sites have sandy soils with pH of 5.3 to 6.9. Fifteen cowpea lines were sourced from the KARI Gene bank which included three improved cultivars that have been tested in central and eastern regions of Kenya. These genotypes have varying agronomic traits and were collected from various regions of Kenya. They are; K033057, K033073, K003731, K005169, K026753, K027092, K003962, K046781, K028613, K047079, K047078, K047121, KVU 27-1, M 66 and K 80. The checks were the local variety and improve variety K 80. Planting was done in the short rains season of 2012 and in the long rains season of 2013. Planting was done at a spacing of 60 cm × 30 cm. The trial was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The data collected included both qualitative and quantitative traits. At maturity the different lines were harvested, weighed with the pods, then threshed and the grain yield per plot measured. 100 seed weight was also recorded per plot. The net plot was the two middle rows of the plot. The year effects were clearly manifested in the agronomic traits and seed quality of the cowpea evaluated. The superiority of K005169 in all the agroecological zones in high grain yield production is observed making the genotype a candidate for consideration in the breeding with others to introgress the genes for high yield potential. The 16 genotypes attained maturity within 70 to 76 days after planting and can therefore be classified as early maturing type. Of the 16 genotypes tested in the three agroecological zones of the lowland coast region, five have shown outstanding performance across the test environments. They are K005169, KVU 27-1, M66, K003962 and K046781. These genotypes have manifested their adaptability and stability across test