Character association and evaluation of cowpea germplasm for green fodder and grain yield under rainfed conditions of Islamabad

An experiment involving 14 local lines of cowpea germplasm including one promising line (P-518 as check) was conducted at Fodder Research Program, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad during the summer of 2006. The main objective of this study was to assess the level of genetic variability exhibited by a germplasm collection of cowpea on morphological basis and to identify the lines suitable for fodder and grain yield. Data were collected on eight agro-morphological characters (tendril length, number of branches per plant, number of leaves main per branch, leaf area, pod length, number of seeds per pod, green fodder and grain yields. Number of branches per plant showed a significant correlation (r =0.585) with leaf area but non-significant association with number of leaves per main branch and green fodder yield.