Phenotypic characterization of cowpea germplasm under sivas ecological conditions

Cowpea is considered an superior genotypes that can be recommended for Sivas ecological conditions. A total of 102 genotypes from various countries and locally grown four commercial cultivars in Turkey were used as plant material. The field experiment was conducted during 2021 at the research and experimental area of Sivas University of Science and Technology according to the augmented block design. A total of 15 agronomic traits were investigated and a good range of variations was observed for all studied traits. Days to emergence varied 4-22 days, days to flowering varied 62-123 days, yield per plant varied 2,3g-36,9g, and 100-seeds weight varied 5,5-18g. 100-seeds weight reflected a highly significant and positive correlation with pods weight, pod length, pod width, seed length, seed width, and yield per plant. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed and the first five PCs accounted for a total of 70,614% variations. Nigeria-17 and Ghana-8 reflected maximum (36,9g) and minimum (2,3g) seed yield and can be considered as a candidate parent for future cowpea breeding. We are confident that provided information will be helpful to develop commercial cultivars having better adaptation to Turkish territory, especially for Sivas.important multi-purpose legume having significant agronomic and nutritional potential. It is a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. In Turkey, it is widely grown in the Aegean and Marmara region, while it is cultivated in a lesser area in the Black Sea region only for home gardening. The present investigation aimed to screen the global cowpea germplasm for agronomic traits under Sivas ecological conditions and to identify.