Effect of Fruit Load on Seed Quality of Cowpea Varieties [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae)]

The development of cowpea cultivation needs to be given priority because, in developing countries, cowpeas make up for many protein deficiencies. Producing quality seeds of this legume would be an essential objective if food security is to be achieved. This study aimed to establish the appropriate fruit load for optimum production of quality cowpea seed.

To achieve this, the impact of five different fruit loads (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 pods per plant) on the yield of four cowpea varieties (KVx745-11P (V1), KVx775-33-2G (Tiligré) (V2), Gourgou (V3) and KVx780-6 (V4)) was assessed. The seeds’ germination capacity and the seedlings’ vigor were then assessed for each of the four varieties.

Findings showed that seed length, width, thickness and weight changed significantly with increasing load in all varieties. The shortest time to emergence was recorded in the V1 variety for seeds from fruit loads of 20, 30, 40 and 50 pods per plant. For the ten pods per plant fruit load, the shortest emergence time was achieved with the V4 variety. The varieties V1, V2 and V4 studied produced excellent agronomic quality seeds when the pod was harvested with a load of 10 pods per plant. The fruit load significantly affected the seed quality and yield across all four varieties. Seeds from the minor C10 load for varieties V1, V2 and V4 and C₂0 for variety V3 exhibit high seedling vigour.