Effects of Planting Dates on Leaf and Grain Yield of Black-Eyed Bean Cowpea Type in Mashonaland East Province in Zimbabwe

Aims: To determine the effect of planting date on leaf and grain yield of Black-eyed bean (BEB) of cowpea type,

Study Design: A field experiment was carried out in a factorial arrangement in randomised complete block design with three replications.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at both on-station (University of Zimbabwe, Crop Sciences Department experimental blocks and on-farm in Mashonaland East Province, Mutoko District, Katsukunya village during the 2005 – 6 and 2006 - 7 cropping seasons.

Methodology: Two sowing dates (14 December and 16 January) were used. The leaf harvesting treatments were started four WACE for the cowpea to set a sufficient framework on both stations. Leaf harvesting was done every week on Fridays for on-station and Wednesdays for on-farms sites and terminated at the 50% flowering stage for BEB after harvesting for four weeks (7 WACE) at the UZ site and for three weeks (6 WACE) in Mutoko a total of twenty-four plants were harvested per each treatment.

Results: The results showed that planting date had significant effect on leaf, grain and biomass yield. Highest (1492 kg/ha) grain yield was obtained with late planting in January while highest (1225.5 kg/ha) leaf yield was obtained with early planting in December

Conclusion: Planting date is an important factor influencing both leaf and grain yield of cowpea.