Production components of bean-cowpea genotypes irrigated with saline water

Abstract

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is a herbaceous legume, considered main vegetable protein source for low-income families in Brazil. Grown in hot humid climates and semi-arid, it becomes an option for the northeast region, since it can serve as an alternative income source to small and medium producers. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate the production characteristics of cowpea genotypes irrigated with saline water. The treatments consisted of the combination of two factors: Irrigation Water Salinity (A1 -water supply with 0,8dSm^-1 and A2 –saline solution 4.8 dSm^-1) and cowpea genotypes (G1 -MNC04-762F -9, G2 -MNC04-762F-3 G3 -MNC04-762F-21 G4 -G5 and MNC04-769F-62 -MNC04-765F-153). Combined factors, a completely randomized design, resulted in 10 treatments (2 levels of salinity x 5 genotypes) with four repetitions. The irrigation with saline water given to the 12 days after sowing (DAS). The variables were the number of pods per plant (NP), pod length per plant (PL), number of seeds per pod (SP), number of grains per plant (GP) and weight of grains per plant (WGP). The salinity of the irrigation water significantly reduced the productive characteristics of cowpea genotypes.