Cowpea Vigna sinensis seed

LATIN NAME: Vigna unguiculata

COMMON NAME: Cowpea

Vigna unguiculata: Cowpea

Cowpea is the hardy, heat-loving bean of the warm regions, and it has been a staple food of the warm world for a very long time. The bushy or trailing plants carry the fine, trifoliate leaves and the small, white, purple or yellow pea-like flowers, and the slender pods follow, holding the small, kidney-shaped beans with the dark eye at the hilum. The beans are eaten fresh or dried, and the young pods are cooked like the green beans. It is one of the most drought-tolerant of the beans, and a fine, generous crop for the warm garden.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Cowpea has a strong and well-documented place in the plant science, and it has been studied for a long time as one of the great staple food legumes of the warm regions. Researchers have looked at the protein-rich beans, the drought tolerance and the nitrogen-fixing roots, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the food security and the warm-climate legumes. The breeding of the improved, high-yielding varieties is an active and important field, and the plant is a regular subject of the tropical agriculture journals. The science here is deep, careful and of the greatest practical importance.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Cowpea is one of the most important of the food legumes of the warm world, and the beans are a staple source of the protein for the millions of the people. The young pods and the leaves are cooked as a vegetable, and the dried beans are used in the soups, the stews and the traditional dishes of the region. As a legume, the plant feeds the nitrogen back into the soil, and the tough, drought-tolerant ways make it a dependable crop in the warm, dry seasons. It has drawn attention in the international agricultural and the food press for its value and its toughness.

Cowpea has been a staple food of the warm regions for thousands of years, and it is one of the most important of the food legumes of the world. The small, kidney-shaped beans, with their dark eye at the hilum, are a staple source of the protein for the millions of the people, and the young pods and the leaves are cooked as a vegetable. The many forms of the plant, from the bush types to the trailing kinds, are grown across the warm world, and the tough, drought-tolerant ways make it a dependable crop in the dry seasons. As a legume, it also feeds the nitrogen back into the soil, so it is a generous plant of the warm garden and the field.

To grow the cowpea from seed, sow the small, kidney-shaped beans at a depth of a couple of centimetres in pots of moist, free-draining soil in the warm season, keep them in a warm, bright, sunny spot and water gently. The seedlings come up within a week and grow fast in the warmth. Give them the sun, the warmth and the well-drained soil, and the young pods will follow through the warm season. It is one of the easiest and the most dependable of the warm-season beans.

Cowpea is a food and animal feed crop grown in the semi-arid tropics covering Africa, Asia, Europe, United States and Central and South America. It originated and was domesticated in Southern Africa and was later moved to East and West Africa and Asia.

The grains contain 25% protein, and several vitamins and minerals. The plant tolerates drought, performs well in a wide variety of soils, and being a legume replenishes low fertility soils when the roots are left to decay. It is grown mainly by small-scale farmers in developing regions where it is often cultivated with other crops as it tolerates shade. It also grows and covers the ground quickly, preventing erosion.

The name “cowpea” probably derives from when it was an important livestock feed for cows in the United States.

Sowing instruction.

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and sow in trays in early to mid spring in a greenhouse. Germination should take place within 10 days. Grow the plants on fast and plant them out after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them the protection of a cloche for their first few weeks outdoors to ensure that they do not suffer a check to their growth. An outdoor sowing in situ in late spring may succeed in a warm summer, though it is much more likely to be a disappointment in Britain.
Grows even upto 3 meters so might need stick support.