Advanced Breeding Approaches for Developing Cowpea Varieties in Dryland Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Cowpea is an important grain legume because it is a major source of cheap dietary protein. In the last four decades, the production of cowpea in South Africa is limited by lack of improved varieties that exhibit good agronomic traits and pest resistance. The purpose of the study was to develop cowpea varieties with important economic traits to meet the needs of the farmers. Germplasm lines were evaluated in field trials to select the promising lines that were used in hybridization to develop well-adapted elite genotypes. Pair-wise crosses were made to develop broad-based segregating populations. Pedigree, recurrent selection methods were used to advance the promising genotypes. Ten genotypes expressed high grain yield with combined pest resistance (aphids, bruchid, virus, leafhopper and bacterial blight). The implication of this achievement is that farmers can attain more grain yield per land area with reduced cost of pest control and increase the profit margin of the farmers. Furthermore, four elite varieties (JanaFod, ARC-GCI-CP76, UL-58 and UL-1010) have been registered and awaiting commercialization. The future activity is to commercialize the varieties to enhance uptake and availability of seeds to seed growers, farmers and consumers.