Effect of seed source on crop establishment, bacterial blight intensity, grain and dry matter yield in Cowpeas

Most cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.Walp) farmers use informal seed. The quality of this seed is unknown and thus crop establishment and performance is often uncertain. A study was conducted during the 2016 short rains in Makueni County in Kenya at two sites namely Kambi Ya Mawe and Kiboko at Lower Midland sub zone IV (LM 4) and Lower Midland sub zone V (LM 5), respectively. Effect of three different seed sources, i.e., certified, market sourced and farm saved of three different cowpea varieties (KVU, M66 and K80) were evaluated. Certified seed recorded the highest seedling emergence and plant stand. Crop raised from farm saved seed had the highest disease intensity of bacterial blight. Dry grain and dry matter were higher in LM5 than in LM4. The results also showed that dry grain yield and dry matter yield were highest in certified seeds. Therefore, for the farmers whose basic interest in the cowpea crop is dry grain for food and dry matter for fodder, use of certified seeds is recommended.