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Rusty and Encore should be
used as the leaves can either
be grazed or picked for
spinach and the seed can be
harvested.
Plant in full sun and sow
directly in the fields when the
soil is wet. Planting times are
November to early December
for hay and mid - December
to mid-January for seed.
Plant manually, using two to
three seeds per hill, or use a
mechanical planter. The
recommended spacing is 50
to 75 cm between rows and
50 to 70 cm between plants
for spreading varieties and 50
cm between rows and 25 to
25 cm for erect and semierect varieties.
Traditionally, cowpeas are
usually grown under dryland
rather than irrigated conditions and they are drought
tolerant. Water requirements
vary with the crop's growth
stage, soil type and weather
conditions. Water it regularly
if it is grown as a leafy
vegetable. The frequency of
irrigation
depends
on the soil
type.
Although it
is possible
to grow
cowpeas
with
minimal
inputs it is
advisable
to at least
control the
Cowpea seeds dry to a variety of colours.
insect pests if the crop is
planted for seed. The main
pests during the growing
season are pod sucking bugs
(Riptortus spp., Nezara
viridula and Acantomia sp.),
aphis (Aphis fabae, Aphis
craccivora), blister beetle
(Mylabris spp.) and pod borer
(Maruca vitrata).
Cowpeas are susceptible to
nematodes and thus should
not be planted consecutively
on the same land. Cowpeas
are also susceptible to viruses,
and therefore good quality
seed should be used as some
viruses are seed borne as well
as being transmitted by
insects.
Cowpeas vary in growth habit
from erect or semi-erect types
with short (<100 days) growth
duration, grown mostly for
grain, to longer (>120 days)
duration in semi-erect to
trailing plants which are
normally grown primarily for
forage. At maturity, leaves will
dry down but may not drop
35
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FORAGE
off completely.
In cowpeas grown for
vegetable purposes, the
leaves are picked four weeks
after planting, and this
continues until the plants
start to flower. If the crop is
grown for seed, harvest when
75-80% of the pods are dry
and cut hay when 25% of
the pods are coloured.
The crop is susceptible to
weevil infection in storage, so
needs to be stored in a
protected place.