CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME FORAGE COWPEA (Vigna ungiculata L.) GENOTYPES ON YIELD, MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS AND RAPD-PCR

Field and laboratory experiments were carried out at El-Serw Agric. Res. Station (Damietta Governorate, ARC, Egypt) during summer seasons of 2018, 2019 and Seed Technology Research Department, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt and Faculty of science, Mansoura Univ. to identify and discriminate four cowpea genotypes using Morphological and Molecular marker. The results showed significant variability among cowpea genotypes.

Sakha2 genotype recorded the highest mean for fresh and dry weights in cut 1 and cut 2 and its total. Whereas, Sers-Lian genotype recorded the lowest mean for the aforementioned characters.

The genotypes were different inintensity of green color of leaf blade, flower color and leaf shape, while they were not different for regarding degree of growth habit, seedling anthocyanin coloration, flower bud color, pod texture of surface and seed shape. The genotypes varied in all forage yield, seed yield and seed quality characters.Sakha1recorded the highest values of pod length, pod width, pedicel length, seed length, seed width and plumule length (16cm, 0.8cm, 21cm, 7cm, 0.6cm&8.8cm)respectively. While, Sakha2 gave the highest value of branches number, for stem length, terminal leaflet length, terminal leaflet width and petiole length (7.7, 107.7 cm, 8.3 cm, 6 cm&13 cm)respectively. On the other hand, Balady genotype gave the highest value in radical length, seedling length and seedling vigor index (11.5 cm, 20 cm & 1494) respectively. Also, Sers-Lian genotype gave the highest value in seed germination % (74.8) but Sakha1and Sakha2 were recorded the highest value of 100-seed weight (9.4 gm).

The dendrogram divided these genotypes into two main clusters, the first cluster was further divided into two subclusters (IA and IB), subcluster IA included Sakha2 and Sers-Lian. Subcluster IB included Sakha1. Balady was in a separate cluster.RAPD can identify markers for Sakha1 which has specific RAPD markers at 920 bp of primer A10.