Growing cowpeas: Part 3

Cowpeas are grown for their seed and leaves, and both are targeted by insect pests and disease. Farmers need to scout for these threats and manage the problem in good time in order to ensure a healthy crop.

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The cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is used both as a vegetable (semispreading types) and a grain, with the seed providing an inexpensive source of protein, according to a production guide by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).

Cowpeas can be prepared in a number of ways. You can cook the dried pulses together with other vegetables to make a thick soup, or grind them into a meal or paste. You can also boil the fresh, immature pods as a vegetable.

The fresh leaves and growth points can be picked and eaten like spinach.

Dried leaves are often preserved and eaten as a meat substitute. Many farmers grow cowpeas as a dual-purpose crop: the green pods are used as a vegetable and the remaining parts are made into livestock fodder.

Cowpeas are good to eat, highly nutritious and relatively free of metabolites and other toxins.

INSECT PESTS: A MAJOR THREAT

Insect pests are strongly attracted to cowpeas. The main pests during the growing season are pod-sucking bugs (Riptortus spp, Nezara viridula and Acantomia spp), aphids (Aphis fabae and A. craccivora), blister beetles (Mylabris spp) and pod borer (Maruca vitrata).

To control these pests, you will have to apply pesticide once or twice to the crop. For commercial producers, unfortunately, this will mean that that the grain is downgraded.