Production Technology of Cow Pea

Presented By:
Tahirah Kalsoom
B.sc(Hons) Agriculture
4rth semester, section-(A)

College of Agriculture,
BZU, Layyah
Nomenclature of Cow Pea

 Local Name: Lobia/Black eyed pea

 English Name: cow pea
 Botanical Name: Vagina unguiculata
 Family: Fabaceae
 Origin: Asia and Africa
Plant of cowpea
 Cow Pea

 Cowpea is a short-day,summer crop

 Cowpea is self pollinated crop
 Its seed has kidney shaped and its flower colour is white and
purple
 In traditional farming system cowpea is mostly interplanted
with maize,sorghum or millet
 Cowpea is grown for its mature seed, and for its immature
fruits and leaves to be used as vegetable
 It is an important source of human food and animal feed
 Plant Height
 30 to 36 inches usually
Suitable Regions
 It is well adoptable to sami-arid zone because of its drought-
resistant character
pH Requirement
  Optimum pH range is 5.5 to 6.5
Cow pea
 Sowing Season
 Kharif Season
Sowing Time
 For seed: mid-June to mid-July
 For fodder:early sowing in March or April
Seed Rate
 highly seed required for fodder purpose
 20-30 kg/ha for seed purpose
Sowing Method
 Broadcasted or by drill method or maize planter
Soil Requirement
 Sandy loamy soils is most suitable
 Climatic Requirement
 Warm season crop
 Temperature range 20-30 degree Celsius
Spacing
 row to row spacing should be of 50 to 75cm
 plant to plant spacing should be of 10 cm
Weed Management
 Broadleaves and Narrow leaves
 Intercultural operations like hoeing
 As a sole crop two hoeing required:Apply first,one month after
emergence and second before flowering
 Soil Preparation
 As a sole crop 2-3 cultivations
 After interculturing with a cultivaters for the main crop,cowpea is sown
in inter-rows
Fertilizer Requirement
 Fertilizer applications are not essential
 Cowpea shares the benefits of the companion crop
Water Requirement
 2-3 irrigations
 Cowpea is mostly grown in Barani areas
Diseases and their control
 Aphids-born Mosaic Virus(ABMV)
 Scab and leaf-smut
 Fusarium wilt
Pest control
 White flies
 Aphids
 Beetles
 Pod-borer
Irrigation Fertilizer Application
Average Yield
 30 to 40t/ha of fodder
 0.75-1.00t/ha for seed purpose
Economic Importance
 Cowpea is highly protein content
 Cowpea is called “hungry-season crop”because it is the first crop to
be harvested before the cereal crops
 It has ability to improve soil fertility and prevent soil erosion
Varities
 For seed,vegetable and fodder purpose:
i. Farmi-71
ii. Barsati
 Two new cultivars of cowpea in Pakistan:
i. NO-1
ii. P-518
Storage time
 About two-thirds of the pods are mature

Harvesting Time
 Oct and continue upto Nov
 Fodder crop is ready for harvest with in two months of
sowing
 It should be harvested at the time of pod formation
Seed of Cow pea