Determination of Suitable Variety and Plants per Stand of Cowpea ( Vigna U nguiculata L.Walp) in the Sandy Soil, Sudan

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the effects of four different numbers of plants per stand on the per- formance of three cowpea varieties under rain-fed conditions. A field experiment was conducted for two successive rainy seasons (2007/08-2008/09) in sandy soil of North Kordofan State, Sudan. The three varieties of cowpea (BLedi, an old lo- cal cultivar and two recently improved cultivars, Haydoob and Eien Elgazal) were sown in four patterns (one, two, three and four plants per stand). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in four replications. The results showed that, plants/stand had a significant effect on most of the attributes measured. Increased plants/stand sig- nificantly increased grain yield per unit area and reduced the number of pods per plant, 100-grain weight, grain yield per plant and harvest index. The local cultivar was late in maturity and had heavier 100-grain weight, greater grain yield per plant, greater final grain yield (t/ha). The Ein Elgazal was earlier in maturity and scored the highest values of harvest index.