Bean varieties you may consider this planting season

Published 2020년 8월 9일

Tridge summary

The article reports the commencement of cowpea planting season in Nigeria, the world's largest producer, with the country planning to cultivate on 3.6 million hectares. Despite being the largest producer, yields are relatively low, ranging from 350 to 400kg per hectare due to various constraints. However, the introduction of new cowpea varieties has shown promise in increasing yields. The Bt. cowpea variety, SAMPEA 20T, requires minimal chemical sprays and has shown good results in trials, while other varieties such as IT89KD-288 and IT89KD-391, released in 2010 and 2019 respectively, offer improved disease resistance and striga tolerance. These varieties, along with others, are expected to enhance cowpea production in Nigeria.

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Original content

Planting of cowpea, commonly called beans, a major export crop in some agro-ecological zones of Nigeria, has begun. The global production of cowpea is estimated at 7.1 million metric tonnes with 6.7 million tonnes coming from Africa on an estimated 12 million hectares. Nigeria produces about three million metric tonnes of cowpea on an estimated 3.6 million hectares, making it the world’s largest producer. However, despite being the world’s largest producer, yields of varieties range between 350 and 400kg per hectare “due to so many constraints”, said Prof. Mohammed Ishiyaku, a cowpea farmer and the Executive Director of the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. Prof. Ishiyaku is the principal farmer of the two new cowpea varieties which were released to farmers in 2019. On the basis of earliness, relatively high yield (2.5-2.9t/ha) potential even under intense maruca infestations due to its resistance to the insect, the variety SAMPEA 20T ...

Source: Daily Trust