Effects of yellow witchweed (Alectra vogelii) strains on performance of improved cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.) Genotypes
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Date
2021-12-31
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Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Witchweed (Alectra vogellii) has continuously remained a great challenge for
cowpea production in sub-Saharan Africa. Developing resistant and stable high
yielding cowpea genotypes in Alectra infested areas requires evaluation of available
cowpea germplasm for resistance against the weed. To achieve this, an experiment
was conducted in the screen house at Ilonga Agricultural Research Institute (ARI-
Iloga), Tanzania in 2017 to determine how selected cowpea genotypes fair in soils
infested with different Alectra strains. The experiment comprised of two factors
namely A. vogellii strains as the main factors and cowpea genotypes as sub-factors
and was carried out as a spilt plot experiment arranged in randomized complete
block design with three replications. Results revealed significant differences
amongst cowpea genotypes on days to first Alectra emergence and number of
emerged Alectra shoots. The cowpea genotypes B 301, Mkanakaufiti, Vuli AR1, Vuli
AR2 and Vuli-1 allowed Alectra emergence at 42.83, 37.25, 36.75, 37.42 and 33.17
days after planting (DAP), respectively. There were variations in number of Alectra
shoots supported by genotypes, as 1.0, 5.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 14.0 for B301, Mkanakaufiti,
Vuli AR1, Vuli AR2 and Vuli-1, respectively. The genotype B 301 recorded the lowest
number of Alectra shoots, reached 50% flowering earlier and had the highest seeds
and pods weight and highest number of pods per plant. Contrarily, the genotype
Vuli-1 produced the highest number of seeds per pod and was the first to reach 95%
physiological maturity. The genotype B 301 was identified to possess a high level of
resistance to A.vogelii infestation and accordingly was deemed as a useful source of
resistance genes in cowpea resistance breeding programs.
Description
Research article
Keywords
Alectra vogellii strains, cowpea genotypes, resistance