IJBST 2018 Volume 11 Issue 1
International Journal of BioSciences and Technology (IJBST) ISSN: 0974-3987
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Screening for Drought Tolerance in Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) at Seedling Stage under Screen House Condition. Abiola T. Ajayi, Alaba E. Gbadamosi, Victor O. Olumekun. IJBST (2018), 11(1):1-19
Title:
Screening for Drought Tolerance in Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) at Seedling Stage under Screen House Condition
Authors & Affiliation:
Abiola T. Ajayi1, Alaba E. Gbadamosi2, Victor O. Olumekun1
1 Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria
2 Department of Forestry, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria
toyin.ajayi@aaua.edu.ng, alaba.gbadamosi@aaua.edu.ng, victor.olumekun@aaua.edu.ng
ABSTRACT:
One of the challenges limiting the productivity of cowpea is drought. Ten accessions of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) were received from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria and were evaluated for their drought tolerance at seedling stage between February and April, 2016. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications at the screen house of the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Nigeria. Drought was imposed at 16th day of sowing for 21 days when about 90% of seedlings of the most susceptible accession have completely wilted or died. Parameters measured were drought susceptibility scores (DSS), percentage permanent wilting (PPW), and plant height, number of leaves, terminal leaflet length, terminal leaflet width, stem girth, stomata conductance and stomata resistance. Twenty one (21) days after imposition of drought stress, watering then resumed, and 14 days after, percentage plant recovery (PREC), stem regrowth (STR) and stem greenness (STG), were also recorded. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant genotypic differences among accessions for DSS and PPW; morphological traits and physiological parameters during the 21 days of drought stress. Analysis also revealed significant differences among accessions for PREC, STR and STG. Among the traits studied, drought susceptibility scores, percentage permanent wilting, stem greenness and regrowth, number of leaves and stem girth were the best traits useful for the study of seedling drought tolerance in cowpea under a controlled condition.
Keywords: cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, drought tolerance, wilting scales, recovery parameters