scholarly journals Landrace Diversity and Production Systems of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) in Southern Chad

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-186
Author(s):  
Nadjiam Djirabaye

In Chad, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), is increasingly becoming a cash crop. The objective of this work is to assess the varietal diversity, analyze the traditional management of landraces and the production systems of cowpea in southern part of Chad. An inventory and an ethnobotanical survey was conducted through a participatory approach in 17 villages corresponding to two agro ecological zones. Thirty-four vernacular names and 45 landraces are inventoried. On average, 2 names are assigned per village. The number of landraces varies from 4 to 13 with an average of 9.00 per region and 2.70 per village. The highest diversity is observed in Mayo Kebbi. Sixteen morphotypes have been identified and their distribution varies according to the agro ecological zones. Productivity (31.10 %), taste (25.92 %) and grain size (18.34 %) are the farmer main preferred criteria. Farmers use leaves (47 %), pods (29.50 %) and seeds (14.75 %) to identify landraces. Cowpea cultivation is practiced on small areas and in intercropping system (78.60 %). Conservation of seeds (36.07 %), low fertility of the soils (27.85 %) and drought (17.77 %) were the main production constraints. Cowpea is stored mainly in traditional granaries (34.96 %) and on racks (22.93 %). For seeds treatment, farmers use mainly traditional means (32.37 %) and chemical products (6.67 %). Several cowpea-based dishes are identified. Cowpea has also therapeutic virtues. To improve cowpea production, appropriate actions must be considered against the constraints inventoried. The interesting landraces should also be used in a breeding program. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 9(3): 176-186.

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 991
Author(s):  
Ana Maria Figueira Gomes ◽  
David Draper ◽  
Nascimento Nhantumbo ◽  
Rafael Massinga ◽  
José C. Ramalho ◽  
...  

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a neglected crop native to Africa, with an outstanding potential to contribute to the major challenges in food and nutrition security, as well as in agricultural sustainability. Two major issues regarding cowpea research have been highlighted in recent years—the establishment of core collections and the characterization of landraces—as crucial to the implementation of environmentally resilient and nutrition-sensitive production systems. In this work, we have collected, mapped, and characterized the morphological attributes of 61 cowpea genotypes, from 10 landraces spanning across six agro-ecological zones and three provinces in Mozambique. Our results reveal that local landraces retain a high level of morphological diversity without a specific geographical pattern, suggesting the existence of gene flow. Nevertheless, accessions from one landrace, i.e., Maringué, seem to be the most promising in terms of yield and nutrition-related parameters, and could therefore be integrated into the ongoing conservation and breeding efforts in the region towards the production of elite varieties of cowpea.


Author(s):  
Mohamed Nasser Baco

Previous studies suggested that maize is set to become a cash crop while ensuring food security better than any other crop. However, climate change has become one of the key production constraints that are now hampering and threatening the sustainability of maize production systems. We conducted a study to better understand changes here defined as adaptations made by smallholder farmers to ensure food security and improve income through maize production in a climate change context. Our results show that maize farmers in northern Benin mainly rely on traditional seeds. Drought as abiotic stress is perceived by farmers in many agro-ecological zones as a disruptive factor for crop production, including maize. When drought is associated with pest damages, both the quantity (i.e. yield) and the quality (i.e. attributes) of products/harvests are negatively affected. The adverse effects of drought continue to reduce production in different agro-ecological zones of the country, because of the lack of widespread adoption of tolerant varieties. The study suggests actions towards the production of drought-tolerant maize seeds, a promotion of seed companies, the organization of actors and value chains. Apart from climate change, the promotion of value chains is also emerging as one of the important aspects to take into account to sustain maize production in Benin.


2007 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 453-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. C. Muchadeyi ◽  
C. B. A. Wollny ◽  
H. Eding ◽  
S. Weigend ◽  
S. M. Makuza ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Raoul BORKEUM BARRY ◽  
Katamssadan HAMAN TOFEL ◽  
Jean WINI GOUDOUNGOU ◽  
NCHIWAN Elias NUKENINE ◽  
Manuele Tamò ◽  
...  

Cowpea yield improvement is done by adding agricultural inputs. The use of natural substances as pesticides is being encouraged to fight against cowpea field pests. The pesticidal potentials of aqueous extracts of Azadirachta indica and Boswellia dalzielii, Metarhizium anisopliae, alone and in combination with plant extracts, as well as the commercial insecticide Decis were tested on two Vigna unguiculata varieties in field in two agroecological zones (Guinean Savanah and Sahelian Savanah) of Cameroon. The field trials were arranged in a completely randomized block design with nine treatments including control. Each treatment was replicated four times. Vigna unguiculata plants were sprayed at flowering stage thrice with insecticidal products at 5 days interval. Data assessment consisted of counting ramifications per plant, the number of pods per block, and seed yield. All the tested insecticides significantly (p<0.0001) improved the cowpea yield in the two agro-ecological zones. The productions parameters were highly influenced by variety and agroecological zone. The extracts and their combinations were as effective as synthetic pesticide (Decis). Bafia variety recorded the highest ramification rate (37.03±1.59) when treated with the combination of M. anisopliae and A. indica in Maroua (Sahelian Savanah). The same variety also produced most important pods number (90.50±16.66) in Ngaoundere (Guinean Savanah) with the combination of A. indica and B. dalzielii. The highest seed yield (44.23±2.31) was recorded in Ngaoundere with B125 variety treated with the combination of the three treatments (A. indica, B. dalzielii, M. anisopliae). A. indica, B. dalzielii, M. anisopliae and their combinations could be considered as potential natural input in the improvement of V. Unguiculata yield. This would not only increase V. unguiculata yield but also preserves environment from the pollution due to the use of synthetic residual chemicals.


Author(s):  
D. Gaad, M. Laouar, A. Abdelguerfi

This study aims to make an inventory of the existing diversity and establish a representative collection of the diversity of lentil crop in Algeria. Surveys and collection of lentil accessions were conducted in different agro-ecological zones of Algeria In 2011. From ten regions (Departments), fifteen villages were surveyed and 30 lentil accessions were collected. The present study was carried out to survey, identify and document the uses of lentil accessions collected. The information on ethnobotanical uses was collected through semi-structured questionnaires with local villagers, elders and those people having knowledge associated with the production and utilization of lentil (Lens culinaris).The study revealed that among the interviewed farmers, 64% were males while 36% were females. The commonest cropping system found was the cultivation of lentil alone (95.5% of producers) and associated with grass pea (2.5%). Regarding the plant part used, two main parts are used by the farmers interviewed: seeds and the aerial part after harvest as a straw to feed animals. Low yield (40% of responses), disease and insect attack (36%), and low rainfall (24%) were the main production constraints reported by the interviewees.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 699-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Auleria A. Apopo ◽  
Henry M. Kariithi ◽  
Leonard O. Ateya ◽  
Yatinder S. Binepal ◽  
Jane H. Sirya ◽  
...  

Abstract Newcastle disease (ND) is a major constraint to Kenya’s poultry production, which is comprised of approximately 80% indigenous chickens (ICs; caged and free-range system) and 20% exotic chickens (intensive system). This study analyzed cases reported as suspected ND in Kenya between 2005 and 2015. Of the suspected 332 ND reported cases from the three production systems in 27 locations within six Kenyan Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs), 140 diagnosed as infected with avian orthoavulavirus 1 (AOaV-1; formerly Newcastle disease virus) were present in every year in all AEZs. The numbers of AOaV-1-positive cases differed significantly (p < 0.05) between the production systems across the years depending on the season, climate, and location. In the free-range system, both ambient temperatures and season associated significantly (p = 0.001 and 0.02, respectively) with the number of cases, while in the intensive and caged systems, the positive cases correlated significantly with season and relative humidity, respectively (p = 0.05). Regardless of the production systems, the numbers of clinically sick birds positively correlated with the ambient temperatures (r = 0.6; p < 0.05). Failure to detect AOaV-1 in 58% of the ND cases reported, and mortalities exceeding the observed numbers of clinically sick birds suggest deficiencies in the current ND reporting and diagnostic system. Intensive farmers were the slowest in reporting the cases and diagnostic deficiencies were most evident by failure to test the exposure of ICs to natural infection with AOaV-1 and for the AOaV-1-negative cases lack of testing for other pathogens and/or AOaV-1 variants. This study indicates a need for improved surveillance and diagnostics in Kenyan domestic poultry.


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