Genetic Variability and Interrelationships of Grain, Cooking, and Nutritional Quality Traits in Cowpea: Implications for Cowpea Improvement

Abstract

Grain quality, cooking quality, and nutritional quality traits are some of the major attributes that enhance the uptake and utilization of improved cowpea varieties. Therefore, there is a need for a better understanding of the genetic variation and inter-relationships among these quality traits in cowpeas to integrate them into cowpea breeding programs. This study was conducted to determine genetic variability among 306 cowpea genotypes for grain quality, cooking quality, and nutritional quality traits and to understand the interrelationships among these traits for exploitation in breeding programs. The results showed highly significant differences (p p < 0.001) positive correlations were detected for protein content with iron and zinc. On the other hand, nutritional quality traits did not exhibit any association with grain quality or cooking quality traits. Cooking quality traits were also shown to be significantly and positively correlated with grain quality traits. This study has identified several genotypes with desirable quality-related traits that could be used in crossing programs to generate improved varieties with consumer-preferred traits to improve the food, income, and nutritional status of many smallholder farmers that largely depend on cowpeas.

Keywords

• consumer-preferred traits
• cowpea
• genetic variability
• interrelationships
• quality traits