Effect Of Water Stress On The Leaf Relative Water Content And Yield Of Some Cowpea Vigna Unguiculata L Walp. Genotype

Abstract This Experiment was carried out in the screen house of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IITA Kano station to study the leaf relative water content and yield of nine cowpea Vigna unguiculata L Walp. varieties to water stress. Data were collected on the following criteria number of leaves leaf area LA leaf relative water content LRWC and agronomic traits. The experimental materials were arranged in randomize complete block design with three treatments which include unstressed vegetative stage and flowering stage of water stress. The results indicate that Leaf Relative Water Content LRWC of the water stressed genotypes were lower than the unstressed genotypes. At vegetative stage of water stress only 22.22 had an increase in their leaf water content and 77.78 recorded reduction in their LRWC. The highest reduction was exhibited by IT97K-568-19 with 9.5 and lowest reduction was recorded 0.1 by TVU-7778. 55.55 of the genotypes at flowering stage of water stress had reduction in their pod number. The Fodder yield at vegetative stage of water stress showed that 77.77 of the genotypes recorded reduction in their Fodder yield. IT98K-503-1 had higher dry fodder yield with 4.07 increase. At flowering stage of water stress 99 of the genotypes recorded reduction in their fodder yield. The present study conclude that water stress reduced the leaf area relative water content and grain yield among the cowpea screen genotypes TVU-7778 and IT98Kk-503-1recorded lower seed number at vegetative and flowering stages