A Rapid Method of Hand Crossing Cowpeas

摘要

Cowpeas are generally easier to cross than other grain legumes. Their flowers are large and easy to manipulate, the keel is straight, beaked, and not twisted. There are only a few floral nodes per raceme, which tend to have a low abortion rate, and 8-12 seeds are usually produced per cross. This report presents an effective and rapid method of hand emasculating and crossing cowpeas which was developed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The normal crossing technique consists of removing the upper half of the petals starting with a partial cut opposite the stylar and staminal section. Following pollination with a freshly opened flower, the crossed bud remains uncovered. Normally, the emasculation-/pollination process can be accomplished at the rate of 1-2 per minute with a success rate of only 10-20%.