Cow Pea - 0.5 kg Seeds

Vigna unguiculata, the Cowpea (Lobia, Chawli or black-eyed pea), is a fast-growing annual legume rather than a tree, ranging from bushy to semi-trailing, with trifoliate leaves, pale violet or white flowers and long slender pods full of nutritious seeds.

It is grown widely as a pulse and vegetable crop for its protein-rich grain and tender green pods, as a quality fodder, and as a nitrogen-fixing green-manure and cover crop that improves and protects the soil. It is cultivated throughout India in the kharif and summer seasons, performing well in warm conditions on a wide range of well-drained soils and tolerating heat and short dry spells better than most pulses.

• Family: Fabaceae (Faboideae)
• Native region: Africa
• Mature height: 0.3-1 m (bushy to trailing)
• Growth rate: Fast

Cowpea seed germinates fast and needs no special treatment, though a short soak speeds it up. Sow the seeds directly in the field about 2-3 cm deep in warm, moist, well-drained soil, spacing them in rows; an optional 4-6 hour soak in water helps even emergence. Germination takes only about 3-7 days, and as a direct-sown crop the seedlings are not transplanted but simply thinned to the desired stand.