Time of Planting, Rainfall and Soil Moisture Effects on Cowpea in Sierra Leone

Abstract

SUMMARYAn experiment was conducted during the minor season in Sierra Leone to determine the optimum planting date for a photo-insensitive cowpea cultivar and study the relations between total rainfall and soil moisture available at different growth stages. Cowpeas planted in early September produced the tallest plants and higher grain yields than from other planting dates, since they benefited from 90% of the season's rainfall and made use of stored soil moisture. Average weekly rainfall or soil moisture in the top 15 cm of soil, recorded from planting to 50% flowering, can be used to predict cowpea grain yield.