Effects of spacings on the growth and yield of cowpea beans cultivar Caupicor 50 Efectos de espaciamientos sobre el crecimiento y rendimiento del fríjol caupí cultivar Caupicor 50

Abstract

Cowpea bean is an important legume in the Caribbean region of Colombia, for its contribution to the diet of its habitants and being an alternative income for small producers. Nevertheless, the yields obtained do not exceed 600 kg ha^-1, due to the unknown of the effect of cultural methods on the species, as in the different cultivars. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of different spacing and hydrogel on vegetative and reproductive characteristics of cowpea beans, cultivar Caupicor 50 in the department of Sucre of the Caribbean region of Colombia. A split-plot design was used, with three replications (blocks). Two distances between rows: 60 and 80 cm in the main plot, three spaces between plants: 20, 30, and 40 cm in the subplot, and hydrogel: 0 and 5 g / plant in the sub-sub plot were combined. The variables evaluated were: plant height, leaf area, leaf area index, crop growth rate, number of pods per plant, pod length, number of seeds per pod, the weight of one hundred seed, and seed yield/ha. The highest yield, 2,027 kg ha^-1, was estimated with 20 cm between plants and 60 cm between rows (83,333 plants ha^-1) and was associated with greater leaf area, leaf area index and crop growth rate, and a lower number of pods per plant, pod length and weight of one hundred seeds.