Agronomic Performance and Varietal Evaluation of Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] under Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Cowpea is a widely cultivated food legume of Sri Lanka. With the banning of the importation of inorganic fertilizers cultivation of cowpea suffered and its prices drastically went up. This necessitated the finding of alternative sources of supplying essential plant nutrients. Six cowpea varieties, viz. ANKCP 01, ANKCP 02, Dawala, Waruni, ANKCM 13-6, and CP 246 were evaluated at Grain Legume and Oil Crop Research and Development Centre, Angunukolapelessa both in field and simulation modeling. Both cowpea varieties and fertilizer management significantly influenced the growth and yield of cowpea. Among the levels of fertility management, the use of DOA recommended practice, and the application of compost at 10 t/ha with the recommended fertilizers significantly improved the growth and Yield parameters, while of the varieties, ANKCP 01 significantly outyielded the rest of the varieties. Crop simulation using APSIM for Dawala variety, a popular variety simulated the same results in this study, which indicated the potential of using the APSIM model for simulating crop growth and yield of cowpea.