Effects of sowing date on agronomic characteristics of intermediate-erect type cowpea grown in plastic greenhouse.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sowing time on ecological responses, growth, and yields of cowpeas grown in plastic greenhouses in a southern region of South Korea. Experiments were carried out in Naju, Jeonnam Province (Latitude 04` N, Longitude 54` E) during 2012 and 2013. The intermediate-erect type strains used in this study were Jeonnam1 and Jeonnam2. Sowing was performed between mid-March and mid-August at intervals of one month. The days from sowing to emergence was significantly higher for the mid-March sowing (12 days) but no significant differences were observed among the other sowing dates (3 to 4 days). The days from sowing to first flowering were shorter for sowing dates between mid-March and mid-July because sowing time was delayed and then were lengthened again at mid-August sowing; the days were longest at mid-March sowing (around 75 days) and were shortest at mid-July sowing (30 days). The days from first flowering to harvesting were short for the sowing dates between mid-March and mid-May (24 to 28 days) but were relatively long for subsequent sowing dates (35 to 38 days). Stem and peduncle lengths were relatively long for the mid-April and mid-August sowing dates. Main-stem node number was highest for the mid-June sowing. Branch number per plant was highest for the mid-March sowing. The mid-March sowing displayed the highest number of pods per plant as well as the heaviest seed weight. Yield per 10 ares was highest for the mid-March sown Jeonnam1 and the Jeonnam2 strains (340 and 367 kg respectively), and then tended to decrease due to subsequent delays in sowing.