Evaluation of Grain Yield of Two Varieties of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Subjected to Four Agricultural Practices in Gùrué District, Mozambique
Germias Horácio António
Universidade Católica de Moçambique-Faculdade de Agricultura, Cuamba-Niassa, Mozambique.
José Bofana *
Universidade Católica de Moçambique-Faculdade de Agricultura, Cuamba-Niassa, Mozambique and Centro de Investigação Agraria e Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Cuamba-Niassa, Mozambique.
Francisco Gimo
National Cooperative Business Association, CLUSA International, Gùrué, Mozambique.
Sueco Albino Cipriano
Universidade Católica de Moçambique-Faculdade de Agricultura, Cuamba-Niassa, Mozambique and Centro de Investigação Agraria e Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Cuamba-Niassa, Mozambique.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
To evaluate the effect of four agricultural practices on grain yield, two varieties (IT-16 and IT-18) of cowpeas were tested in the agricultural year 2016/2017 an experimental field where the following agricultural practices were tested: tillage, tillage + mulch, zero tillage and zero tillage + mulch. The randomized complete blocks design, a scheme consisting of two factors: agronomic practices and varieties was used. The plant height, number of pods per plant, weight of 100 seeds and grain yield in kg ha-1 were considered as parameters for analysis. From the results, it was concluded that for the yield of grain of different varieties under study, the variety IT-18 subjected to zero tillage + mulch and the variety IT-16 subjected to tillage had better performance achieving 2600.00 kg ha-1 and 1725.00 kg ha-1 respectively; therefore, recommended to the farmers.
Keywords: Agricultural practices, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), grain yield, varieties, Gùrué