cowpea Archives - IITA News

Biocontrol reduces Maruca pod borer population by 85%

Scientists based at CGIAR-IITA’s climate change station in Benin are happy with the results of the just-concluded experimental release of wasps. These wasps, which are natural enemies of the Maruca pod borer, were released two years ago to go after the destructive cowpea insect. Results showed an 85% reduction in the population of the pod…

How wasps are used to control the destructive cowpea pest—Maruca vitrata

Maruca vitrata, also known as Maruca pod borer, is one of the most devastating insect pests of cowpea in Africa. Its larvae stage, the caterpillar, is the most destructive and attacks flowers and pods of various legumes causing up to 80% yield loss. Farmers resort to inappropriate pesticide applications with some spraying the legume as…

Sasakawa Global 2000 appreciates collaboration with IITA

“Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG 2000) recognizes the relevance and importance of IITA to its extension service delivery and appreciates the continued positive partnership with IITA.” A senior management team of Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) stated this on 5 July, during a visit to the IITA Kano Station in Northern Nigeria. Mr Osaka Katsuhiro, Senior Executive…

Mozambique farmers enjoy greater yields as a result of IITA’s research

IITA’s research in Mozambique has made much impact in rural and national development by ensuring that the agricultural sector is competitive, sustainable, gender-balanced, and resilient to the stress and impacts of climate change. IITA Seed System Agronomist, Canon Engoke, outlined the details at IITA-Nampula during a seminar titled “Agricultural technologies demanded for change in Mozambique” on…

IITA Scientist speaks on the outcome of applying new tools in cowpea breeding

IITA Cowpea Breeder, Ousmane Boukar, has laid out the details of activities, challenges, and successes of the cowpea breeding project from 2016 to 2018. He outlined these in a presentation titled: “Applying new tools to cowpea genetic improvement,” which was part of the contract review seminar held at IITA-Ibadan on 11 March. He also spoke…

IITA, Bayer, NARS meet to modernize cowpea breeding

Representatives from the Global Breeding/Analytics and Pipeline Design team of Bayer–Crop Science, met with IITA’s cowpea breeding program team and scientists from some national programs on 4-7 February to review ongoing collaboration. The meeting also aimed to fine-tune models through which IITA and national partners can benefit from Bayer’s expertise in modern crop breeding. The…

Picture of Researcher inspecting cowpea plants.

Using wild relatives in breeding cowpea for improved adaptation to drought and heat

Cowpea is an important staple crop of the savannah region of West Africa but efforts to increase its productivity may be hampered by climate change particularly reduced and erratic rainfall and increased temperatures.

Picture of Cowpea is both a delicacy and livelihood crop for many African households.

Scientists say new spacing could guarantee more yield for cowpea

CGIAR scientists are recommending a new spacing regime for cowpea that could give farmers up to 79% more yield if adopted. The new spacing is a result of a study on the Effects of plant density on the performance of cowpea in Nigerian savannas, conducted during the 2013 and 2014 growing seasons at the IITA…

AVEC-BF provides best options for cowpea farmers in Burkina Faso

A series of farmers’ participatory varietal selection (FPVS) for cowpea in Burkina Faso conducted by the IITA AVEC-BF project, has resulted in the identification of best choice varieties for the country. The trials, which have been in progress since 2010, have assisted over 3,500 farmers to identify and grow best-fit cowpea options for their specific regions….

Screen grab of The EDIT-Cowpea database (pictured above) enables cowpea breeders to identify genotypes with favorable target traits.

JIRCAS, IITA launch cowpea database

The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), in collaboration with IITA, has launched the EDITS-Cowpea database. This open-access database aims to generate fundamental scientific information to promote better utilization of cowpea genetic resources in breeding programs and crop utilization. Cowpea is vital to the livelihoods of millions of people in the semi-arid regions…