resistance to major diseases such as septoria leaf spot, scab, and bacterial blight, as well as to nematodes. It is also tolerant to Nigeria’s strain of Striga gesnerioides. The variety produces at least 80% more grain than the local varieties and is a good candidate for sowing in cereals or as a relay crop with maize in the moist and dry savanna zones. IT89KD-391 (now SAMPEA-12) is also a dual-purpose cowpea variety that has medium-to-large brown seeds with a rough seed coat. These are preferred seed characteristics for commercial production in northeast Nigeria. Researchers say that IT89KD-391 is a welcome improvement over SAMPEA 7, Ife brown, IT90K-76, and IT90K-82-2, which are the main improved brown-seeded varieties available. It has been tested extensively in this area and is well accepted by the farmers. The variety performs well either as a monocrop or an intercrop, and could also be planted as a relay crop with maize in the Guinea savannas. On-station and on-farm trials have shown that IT89KD-391 produces twice the yields of local cultivars.
Cowpea being readied for storage. Photo by T Abdoulaye, IITA.
Better soybean We continue to work with our partners in the soybean-producing countries of sub-Saharan Africa to develop and disseminate varieties that address production constraints while taking into account local suitability and farmers’ preferences. In 2010, six of our soybean varieties have either been released or are in the final stages of being released to farmers in Nigeria and Mozambique. These varieties have valuable traits such as high grain and fodder yields, short planting-toharvest duration, tolerance to drought, and resistance to common pests and diseases such as weeds and soybean rust.
29