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REGISTRATIONS OF CULTIVARS

Registration of ‘Marfo-Tuya’ Cowpea

^a CSIR, Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Box 52, Tamale, Ghana
^b Dep. of Botany and Plant Sciences, Univ. of California Riverside, CA 92521, USA

^* Corresponding author: (padifrancis{at}yahoo.co.uk)

‘Marfo-Tuya’ cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] (Reg. no. CV-220, PI 633740) was developed by the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) Tamale, of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana, and released on 9 May 2003 by the National Varietal Release Committee of Ghana. Marfo-Tuya was released for cultivation in the Guinea and Sudan savannah zones of Ghana because of its high grain yield in soils of low fertility, tolerance to heat during reproductive development, and resistance to Striga gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke.

Marfo-Tuya was developed from a cross between ‘Sumbrisogla’ and 518-2 made in April 1987. Sumbrisogla is a landrace from the Upper West Region of Ghana, with resistance to S. gesnerioides (NAES, 1991). 518-2 is a blackeye breeding line of the University of California, Riverside, USA and was developed from a cross of ‘California Blackeye No. 5’ and ‘TVu 4552’. TVu 4552 is a Nigerian landrace tolerant to heat stress during reproductive development (Marfo and Hall, 1992). The F₁ was advanced in a screen house facility in 1987. In June 1988, F₂ plants were evaluated under field conditions at the Imperial Valley Agricultural Field Station (IVAFS) California, USA, with average daily minimum and maximum air temperatures during flowering of 24 and 42°C, respectively. Criteria for selection were the number of pods per peduncle, erect plant habit, and white seed coat. Desirable F₃ families were evaluated in single-row plots under field conditions in Northern Ghana at the SARI main station and on the basis of the above selection criteria a pedigree row was selected and selfed to the F₆ from 1990 to 1992.

Marfo-Tuya was evaluated as Sul 518-2 in replicated preliminary yield trials at the SARI main station, Nyankpala in 1993, and in advanced agronomic performance trials at four locations in Northern Ghana from 1994 to 2000. In the multi-locational trials, the average grain yield was 1159 kg ha^–1, which was 52% higher than that of the check variety, ‘Bengpla’. In addition, post-harvest biomass yield was significantly higher in Marfo-Tuya compared with Bengpla. Marfo-Tuya was 10 d later in maturing than Bengpla. Marfo-Tuya has similar levels of tolerance to Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom and Maruca vitrata Fabricius, as Bengpla. Marfo-Tuya exhibited higher levels of resistance to the predominant races of S. gesnerioides in the Sudan savannah zone of Ghana than Bengpla.

In farmer-managed comparative yield trials conducted from 1997 to 1999 in 52 farm sites across Northern Ghana, Marfo-Tuya produced grain yield significantly higher than the local checks and Bengpla in 72% of test sites. Results of the farmer-managed agronomic evaluations indicated that Marfo-Tuya is very tolerant to low soil fertility.

Marfo-Tuya is erect with a semideterminate growth habit. It is classified as a medium maturing cultivar flowering at 41 to 42 d after sowing (DAS) and maturing at 66 to 70 DAS. Flowers are white with a tinge of purple in the standard petal. The majority of the pods are carried within the canopy, and the mean number of pods per peduncle is two. The dry seeds have a dull cream luster with brown pigmentation around the hilum. Dry seeds are fairly round and have a 100-seed weight of 17 g.

In consumer preference tests, Marfo-Tuya was preferred to Bengpla in whole-grain cowpea dishes in Northern Ghana. Bengpla was however preferred to Marfo-Tuya for flour-based staple dishes in Northern Ghana.

Breeder seed of Marfo-Tuya is maintained by the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Tamale, Ghana. Small quantities of seed may be obtained from the corresponding author. Plant Variety Protection will not be sought for Marfo-Tuya.

NOTES

Registration by CSSA.

Accepted for publication January 31, 2004.

REFERENCES

• Marfo, K.O., and A.E. Hall. 1992. Inheritance of heat tolerance during pod set in cowpea. Crop Sci. 32:912–918.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• NAES. 1991. Annual Report. Nyankpala Agricultural Experiment Station, Crops Research Institute, Tamale, Ghana.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Padi, F.K. Articles by Marfo, K.O. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Padi, F.K. Articles by Marfo, K.O. Agricola Articles by Padi, F.K. Articles by Marfo, K.O.