Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp. is a widely planted nutritious grain legume [1]. It is cultivated in many West African countries including Nigeria. Cowpea is a source of dietary protein, vitamins and mineral salts. It has been consumed by human since the earliest practice of Agriculture in developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America [2]. The pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculat...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is a legume crop that is resilient to hot and drought-prone climates, and a primary source of protein in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world. However, genome resources for cowpea have lagged behind most other major crops. Here we describe foundational genome resources and their application to the analysis of germplasm currently in use i...

High seed quality is a critical component for realising yield potential. Forsmallholder cowpea farmers in northern Nigeria the informal seed system is amajor supplier of genetically high-quality seed, but the physiological quality offarmers’ produced seed remains unknown. The project “Promoting SustainableAgriculture in Borno State” (PROSAB) trained and supported farmers in seedproduction in Bo...

Resource-poor farmers who are living in the harsh environments of West African Sahel (WAS) depend on subsistence orientated, low-input farming systems for meeting their livelihood needs. These largely extractive have resulted nutrient depletion, soil fertility decline, low productivity and land degradation. A study conducted over 25 years Niger, aimed to evaluate long-term effects organic miner...

AIM To evaluate some forage feeds of ruminants in terms of their carbohydrate (CHO) and protein fractions using Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS). MATERIALS AND METHODS Eleven ruminant feeds (six green fodders - maize, oat, sorghum, bajra, cowpea, berseem and five range herbages - para grass, guinea grass, hedge lucerne, setaria grass and hybrid napier) were selected for thi...

Legumes are commonly grown in the tropics under reduced solar radiation due to dense cloud cover and shading from plantation or tall intercrops. This paper examines the growth and N2 fixation of several grain legumes common to the tropics on an Oxic Haplustoll in Hawaii. Plantings were made in April (warm season) and November (cool season) of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) ‘Kahala’; Cowpea (Vig...

The jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP) coding sequence was used to replace the coat protein (CP) genes in a full-length cDNA clone of CPMV RNA-2. Transcripts of this construct were replicated in the presence of RNA-1 in cowpea protoplasts, and GFP expression could be readily detected by fluorescent microscopy. It was not possible to infect cowpea plants with these transcripts, but combin...

Ten cDNAs of genes that were induced by dehydration stress were cloned by differential screening from the highly drought-tolerant legume, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), a major crop in West Africa. The clones were collectively named CPRD (cowpea clones responsive to dehydration). Northern blot analysis revealed that nine of the CPRD genes were induced by dehydration stress, but the timing of induc...

Xylem sap composition was examined in nodulated and nonnodulated cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) plants receiving a range of levels of NO(3) and in eight other ureide-forming legumes utilizing NO(3) or N(2) as sole source of nitrogen. A (15)N dilution technique determined the proportions of plant nitrogen derived from N(2) in the nodulated cowpeas fed NO(3). Xylem sap composition of NO(3)...

Cowpea is major source of dietary protein in tropical region of the world and damage caused by Callosobruchus maculatus impact negatively on its economic and nutritional values. In Nigeria today, the use of synthetic insecticides has been the major means of protecting stored grains from insect pest infestation. The drawback associated with the use of insecticides has necessitated the search for...