Effect of soil water and tillage on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) growth and yield on a clay soil
1993
Gumbs, F.A. | Lindsay, J.L. (West Indies Univ., St. Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago). Soil Science Dept.)
The growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) on a clay soil under flooding and irrigation, with and without tillage, were studied to access the potential of growing the crop on clay soils in the wet and dry seasons of the Caribbean. Flooding at the vegetative stage for 1, 2, 4, or 6 days significantly reduced seed weight/plant and several vegetative plant growth parameters. Flooding for 1 or 2 days at the flowering and pod set stages did not significantly affect any of the plant parameters measured, where as for more than 2 days those parameters were significantly reduced. Draining for 2 days after being flooded for 2 days, the 4- and 6-day duration flooding was not as damaging as continuous flooding. Tillage did not significantly affect cowpea. Irrigation at 4- and 8-day intervals significantly increased seed yields. Mulching plots irrigated at 8-day intervals did not significantly affect seed yield compared with unmulched plots. Irrigating at 8-day intervals from the flowering stage only was as good as irrigating at 4- or 8-day intervals throughout the crop.
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