Effects of Irrigation Intervals on Dry Season Production of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata ) in Forest-Savannah Agro-Ecological Zone of Nigeria

A field experiment was carried out at the farm of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) to investigate the effects of irrigation intervals on dry season production of cowpea during the 2018 and 2019 dry seasons. Randomized complete block (RBCD) was used during the field experimentation with three replicates. Four treatments were considered, which include twice daily irrigation, once daily irrigation, every other day irrigation and two days interval irrigation. The two cowpea varieties used for the experiment were IT89KD-288 and IT89KD-391. The phenological data collected includes plant height (cm), number of leaves, number of branches per plant, while the yield data are number of pods per plant, pod length, seeds per plot, 100 seed weight and yield per hectare. Significant differences were observed in the different characters studied in the various treatments. Twice daily irrigation treatment exhibited highest growth and yield characteristics while two days intervals of irrigation treatment showed the lowest growth and yield characteristics probably due to low water potential. Therefore, in other to achieve a better yield of cowpea, twice daily irrigation is advisable.

Author(s): Adetayo Adewale

Abstract | Full-Text | PDF

Share This Article