(100-86) Genetic Variability and Heritability for Forage and Seed Yields of Fourteen Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp) Genotypes under Drought Stress
Prof. ARC-Agricultural Research Center Ismailia, Al Isma'iliyah, Egypt
Body of Abstract: Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp); (2n=2x=22); is one of the most important legume crops from being cultivated in the arid and semi-arid regions across the world for its fodder and seeds purposes. Where, this crop plays a significant economic role in the market of animal feed (i.e.; hay, dehydrated forage, pellets and silage products). Hereof, the great efforts have been made to improve yield and quality of this crop. Under the climate change; drought has been and is becoming an acute problem mostly constraining plant growth and terrestrial ecosystem productivity, particularly, in arid and semi-arid areas. Moreover, cowpea population in cultivated area is considered an important factor to determine forage and seed yields which more affected by abiotic factors such as drought and salinity.
Because of our primary objective was to evaluate the genetic materials and select of high forage and seed production genotypes as a basis for improving the productivity of cowpea populations under adverse conditions of drought. Therefore, four field experiments were conducted at Ismailia-Agriculture Research Station, Ismailia Governorate; Egypt, during two successive summer seasons (2020 and 2021); two of them for forage yield and the others for seed yield: 1. to evaluate the fourteen populations of cowpea for forage and seed yields under three levels of irrigation. 2. to estimate the water use efficiency for investigated populations. 3. to estimate the genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance as percent of means among the traits conferring drought tolerance in cowpea.