Breeding Cowpea Vignaunguiculata l. Walp for Quality Traits

Abstract

Cowpea is truly a multifunctional crop, providing food for man and livestock and serving as a valuable and dependable revenue-generating commodity for farmers and grain traders. Cowpea is of major importance to the livelihoods of millions of people in less developed countries of the tropics. It is consumed in many forms. Young leaves, green pods, and green seeds are used as vegetables, and dry seeds are used in various food preparations with 25% protein (on dry-weight basis) in its seeds and tender leaves, cowpea is a major source of protein, minerals, and vitamins in the daily diets in Africa, and thus it positively influences the health of men, women and children. The bulk of the diet of the rural and urban poor in Africa consists of starchy food made from cassava, yam, plantain and banana, millet, sorghum, and maize. The addition of even a small amount of cowpea ensures a nutritional balance and enhances the protein quality by the synergistic effect of high protein and high lysine from cowpea and high methionine and high energy from the starchy foods. Trading fresh produce and processed cowpea foods and snacks provides rural and urban women opportunity for earning cash income. A good knowledge of crop taxonomy contributes to an efficient use of germplasm for hybridization in the breeding programs. In addition, the results of hybridizations and cross compatibilities provide the basis for improving plant classification. Large and diverse cowpea germplasm collections are available to the researchers around the world, especially in Africa, to exploit the valuable genes to improve cowpea cultivars.