Ethnobotany and Genetic Diversity of South Chadian Cowpea Landraces as a Novel Source of Early Grain Production

Abstract: Cowpea is the main source of food crop in many sub-Saharan Africa countries, including Chad. However, very little is known on the genetic diversity of South Chadian cowpea, particularly in a context of global warming and climate change. This study was undertaken to determine cowpea genotypes, ethnobotanical nomenclature and to assess morphological and agronomical variability for future breeding program to create a new varieties and build the core collection. Prospecting missions in 14 villages were conducted in rural areas and allowed to collect sixty cowpea landraces. Farmers differentiated landraces using characteristics such as, seed taste, cooking duration, seed color and seed size. The qualitative traits assessed revealed the presence of variability, including plant pigmentation, seed color, seed shapes dominated by rhomboid shape (87.5%). Analysis of variance indicated significant difference (p