Breeding Cowpea for Adaptation to Intercropping for Sustainable Intensification in the Guinea Savannas of Nigeria

Cowpea is a multifaceted crop; however, considerable challenges affect the production of this crop despite its comparatively better adaptation to harsh environments. Most smallholder farmers in West Africa cultivate intercropping systems where low plant population does not allow full expression cultivars’ yield potential. This because most varieties currently grown intercrop have been developed and for monocropping, although some breeding programs recently focused on systems. study, therefore, aimed evaluate performance newly cowpea lines Firstly, an on-station field experiment was conducted 2018. The selected promising standard check were evaluated three locations system on-farm trials. Significant differences observed among genotypes all traits measured. Two improved lines, UAM14-122-17-7 UAM14-123-18-3, had superior grain fodder yields under sole different agroecological systems, revealing their adaptability. Based our findings, UAM14-123-18-3 are recommended cereal-cowpea mixture they adapted produce high-grain sole-cropping