Indication of cowpea cultivars for the production of dry grain in the state of Ceará

ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to evaluate the interaction between genotypes and environments, as well as to indicate, for the state of Ceará, superior cowpea cultivars in terms of adaptability, stability and productivity of dry grains. The experiments were conducted in four different municipalities in the state of Ceará: Crateús, Madalena, Bela Cruz and Limoeiro do Norte; two tests carried out in Crateús (irrigated and rainfed), totaling five assessment environments. The experimental design used in each assay was randomized blocks with 12 genotypes and four replications. Analysis of variance and path analysis were performed, and the averages of the quantitative characters were grouped by the Scott-Knott test. After detecting the significance of the genotype x environment interaction, the adaptability and phenotypic stability of the genotypes were analyzed using the GGE biplot methodology. The municipality of Crateús, in the irrigated system, was discriminative and representative, and can be considered ideal for genotype evaluation. The cultivars BRS Pajeú and BRS Potengi can be recommended for cultivation in the state of Ceará due to their high productivity of dry grains, adaptability and stability, and for having excelled in most of the production components. The number of pods per plant had the greatest direct effect on grain yield.