Gender trait preferences among smallholder cowpea farmers in northern Ghana: lessons from a case study.

Introduction: This case study reports on how a gender responsive breeding program contributes to meeting the trait preference of men and women for improved cowpea varieties in northern Ghana.

Methods: Fifty-eight early-maturing, medium-maturing and dual-purpose cowpea lines were planted at the CSIR-SARI research fields and women and men farmers invited for participatory plant breeding (PPB) in 2016. Selected lines from the PPB were further evaluated in 2017 using participatory varietal selection (PVS) in 5 districts in northern Ghana.

Identification of sources of resistance in cowpea lines to Macrophomina root rot disease in Northern Ghana.

Macrophomina root rot disease (MRRD) caused by is an emerging threat to the profitable cowpea production in northern Ghana. Recommended control methods including the use of fungicides are ineffective and expensive for resource poor farmers whilst biocontrol options are not commercially available. An integrated method based on host plant resistance is considered the cheapest and most effective method of managing the disease.

Genetic control of earliness in cowpea ( (L) Walp).

Global climate change is expected to further intensify the already harsh conditions in the dry savannah ecological zones of sub-Saharan Africa, posing serious threats to food and income security of millions of smallholder farmers. Breeding cowpea for improved earliness could help minimize this risk, by ensuring that the crops complete their lifecycle before the cessation of rainfall. In this study, we crossed two sets of cowpea lines showing contrasting phenotypes for earliness in terms of days to 50% flowering (DFF).

Diallel Analysis and Heritability of Grain Yield, Yield Components, and Maturity Traits in Cowpea ( (L.) Walp.).

Information on combining ability and reciprocal effects (REC) facilitates efficient utilization of genetic materials in a breeding program. This study was conducted (at the CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Ghana) to determine general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA), heritability, genetic advance, GCA, and SCA effects as well as the relationship between parents per se performance and progenies for yield components and maturity traits in cowpea. The test populations were derived using a 5 × 5 complete diallel cross of parents with different yield attributes and maturity durations.