Phenotypic variability studies in selected accessions of Nigerian wild cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

This study was carried out to evaluate the genetic variability among twenty (20) wild cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) accessions collected from National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) Ibadan, Nigeria. The seeds of wild cowpeas were planted in the Experimental Garden of Plant Biology, Federal University of Technology Minna and nurtured to maturity. The experiment was laid in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five replicates each and assessed for agro-morphological and yield parameters. The results showed significant deference (p≤0.05) in most of all the morphological parameters studied. NGB-001145 showed the highest plant height at maturity (26.10 cm), while NGB-001158 had the least plant height at maturity (14.90 cm). NGB-001033 had some superior qualities with earliest mean days (44.40) to flowering, highest number of branches at maturity (7.20) and highest number of pod per plant with the mean of 104.00 pods. The least number of branches a maturity (4.00) and number of pod per plant (22.80) were obtained from accessions NGB-001128 and NGB-001034 respectively. NGB-001145 showed the highest number of seeds per pod (13.40), while NGB-00994 recorded the least number of seeds per pod with the mean value of 5.40. NGB-001166 had the highest seed weight (4.68 g) and NGB-001934 had the least seed weight (2.08 g). The high morphological variability observed among the wild cowpea in this study indicated the presence of good and useful traits in the crop which could be explored for its improvement.