Inheritance of aphid resistance in cowpea

Aphid (Aphis craccivora Koch) is a major insect pest of cowpea {[Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.}, causing direct damage by removal of plant sap and indirect damage by transmitting mosaic viruses. The objective of this study was to determine the genetics of resistance to aphid in three resistant cultivars of cowpea -Vs 350, Vs 438 and Vs 452. The reactions of F_l, F₂, BC_l and BC₂ populations arising from the crosses of three resistant cultivars with two suscepts revealed that resistance in each of these cultivars was governed by a single dominant gene.