The cowpea is rich in Vitamin B complex, calcium, iron and zinc

Cowpea farming is popular in Kenya due to its high nutrition value, short harvest period, and hardiness.

The cowpea is also known as the black-eyed pea. In Kenya, it is popularly known as Kunde and is considered one of the traditional vegetables.

Farmed for its leaves and seeds, Kunde leaves are more popular as a vegetable. Maurice Kitonga from Makueni county says one should consider farming cowpea as a vegetable because of its short harvest period of three to four weeks and its ability to be grown alongside other crops.

"The cowpea is rich in Vitamin B complex, calcium, iron and zinc," says Kitonga.

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Ecological conditions

Cowpeas are grown on a wide range of soils but the crop shows a preference for sandy soils, which tend to be less restrictive on root growth. It is more tolerant to infertile and acid soils than many other crops. Cowpea can grow in a pH range of 5.6 to 6.5.

Land Preparation

Land should be ploughed and harrowed. Then ridged or left as flat seedbeds after harrowing.

Propagation

Cowpea is directly grown from seed. Depending on the purpose for production, it can either be grown as a sole crop or intercrop with cereals such as maize, sorghum or pearl millet. Production is mainly rainfed, however with irrigation it can be planted any time.

Planting

This should be done at the onset of rains for rainfed cultivation. According to Kitonga, spacing varies depending on the production system. As a green vegetable, they are commonly grown as a monocrop in rows 30 to 40 cm apart with 8 to 12 cm between plants. Planting depth is 2.5 to 5cm depending on the environmental condition.

"Deeper planting is recommended in the drier areas," says Kitonga.

Fertiliser

Fertiliser application in cowpea production depends on soil fertility. As a legume, it does not require a high rate of nitrogen fertilisation because its roots have nodules in which soil bacteria called Rhizobia help to fix nitrogen from the air. Where soils are highly eroded an application of dry compost or manure is beneficial.

Weeding

Weeding is important during the early stages of the crop because later the crop covers the ground and suppresses weeds.

Diseases and pests

Diseases include Leaf spot, Scab Powdery mildew and aphid-borne mosaic potyvirus. It is transmitted by aphids. They cause irregular light and dark green mosaic patterns on the leaves. Pests include African bollworm, Flower thrips, Pollen and blister beetle and Pod sucking Bugs.

Control

Plant resistant varieties, use healthy, disease-free seeds and also practice crop rotation with non-legumes.

Harvesting

Uproot the entire plant before the leaves become too mature and fibrous. You can do dual-purpose production where sequential leaf harvests are made during the vegetative phase of plant growth.

Market

Kitonga says there is market for Kunde as it is a very popular delicacy. He sells a kilogram at Sh220 and can produce up to 2,400 kilograms on his one acre farm.