Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:54:50.123Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The growth and development of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) under tropical field conditions: 1. Leaf area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

E. J. Littleton
Affiliation:
International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, PMB 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria
M. D. Dennett
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Botany, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 2AS
J. Elston
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Botany, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 2AS
J. L. Monteith
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology and Environmental Studies, University of Nottingham

Summary

The pattern of leaf growth and death was followed in stands of cowpea grown in the field at Ibadan, Nigeria. Temperature affected this pattern. Leaf area index increased quicker and leaf death started sooner during warm seasons. Individual leaves died while pods at the same node were filling. The rate of leaf appearance increased with temperature and the duration of expansion of individual leaves decreased so that a constant number of leaves were expanding at one time. The mean rate of expansion of individual leaves increased with temperature proportionately more than the duration decreased, hence final leaf size increased with temperature. Base temperatures for leaf appearance and leaf expansion were 16 and 20 °C respectively.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Auld, B. A., Dennett, M. D. & Elston, J. (1978). The effect of temperature change on the expansion of individual leaves of Vicia faba L. Annals of Botany 42, 877888.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayanaba, A. & Lawson, T. L. (1976). Diurnal changes in acetylene reduction in field grown cowpeas and soybeans. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 9, 125129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biscoe, P. V. & Gallagher, J. N. (1977). Weather, dry matter production and yield. In Environmental Effects on Crop Physiology (ed. Landsberg, J. J. and Cutting, C. V.), pp. 75100. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bull, T. A. (1968). Expansion of leaf area per plant in field bean (Vicia faba L.) as related to daily maximum temperature. Journal of Applied Ecology 5, 6168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dart, P. J. (1973). Combined nitrogen and the symbiosis of Rhizobium with grain legumes. FAO/IAEA Review Paper. Vienna: International Atomic Agency.Google Scholar
Dennett, M. D., Auld, B. A. & Elston, J. (1978). A description of leaf growth in Vicia faba L. Annals of Botany 42, 223232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennett, M. D., Elston, J. & Milford, J. R. (1979). The effect of temperature on the growth of individual leaves of Vicia faba L. in the field. Annals of Botany 43, 197208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennett, M. D., Milford, J. R. & Elston, J. (1978). The effect of temperature on the relative leaf growth rate of crops of Vicia faba L. Agricultural Meteorology 18, 505514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eaglesham, A. R. S., Minchin, F. R., Summerfield, R. J., Dart, P. J., Huxley, P. A. & Day, J. M. (1977). Nitrogen nutrition of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). III. Distribution of nitrogen within effectively nodulated plants. Experimental Agriculture 13, 369380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elston, J., Karamanos, A. J., Kassam, A. H. & Wadsworth, R. M. (1976). The water relations of the field bean crop. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, Series B 273, 581591.Google Scholar
Evans, L. T. (1957). Climatic response of individual plants: the broad bean. In The Experimental Control of Plant Growth (ed. Went, F. W.). Chronica Botanica 17, 124128.Google Scholar
Grancher, C. V. & Bonhomme, R. (1972). Development of foliage, dry matter increase and yield in Vigna sinensis stands of different density. Paper presented idth Annual Meeting of Caribbean Food Crops Society, Puerto Rico, 11–17 06 1972.Google Scholar
Grobbelase, W. P. (1962). The growth of maize preheated at various soil temperatures. Jaarbroek Instituut voor Biologisch en scheikundig onderzoclc van landbouwhewassen, pp. 3338.Google Scholar
Hackett, C. & Rawson, H. M. (1974). An exploration of the carbon economy of the tobacco plant. II. Patterns of leaf growth and dry matter partitioning. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 1, 271281.Google Scholar
Hardy, R. W. F. & Havelka, U. D. (1975). Nitrogen fixation research: a key to world food? Science 188, 633643.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hesketh, J. D., Baker, D. N. & Duncan, W. G. (1972). Simulation of growth and yield in cotton. II. Environmental control of morphogenesis. Crop Science 12, 436439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hesketh, J. D., Chase, S. S. & Nanda, N. K. (1969). Environmental and genetic modification of leaf number in maize, sorghum and Hungarian millet. Crop Science 9, 460463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Institute Op Tropical Agriculture (1976). Grain Legume Improvement Program, Physiology. In Annual Report for 1975. Ibadan: IITA.Google Scholar
International Institute Or Tropical Agriculture (1977a). Grain Legume Improvement Program. In-House Report for 1976, p. 80Ibadan: IITA.Google Scholar
International Institute Of Tropical Agriculture (1977b). Grain Legume improvement program. In-House Report for 1976, p. 49. Ibadan: IITA.Google Scholar
Littleton, E. J., Dennett, M. D., Montieth, J. L. & Elston, J. (1979). The growth and development of cowpeas under tropical field conditions. 2. Accumulation and partition of dry weight. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 93, 309320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montieth, J. L. (1977). Climate. In Ecophysiology of Tropical Crops (ed. Alvim, P. de T. and Kozlowski, T. T.), pp. 127. New York: Academio Press.Google Scholar
Nelder, J. A. (1961). The fitting of a generalization of the logistic curve. Biometrics 17, 89110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearse, H. L. (1960). Growth conditions and the characteristics of cured tobacco leaves. I. The influence of modified nutrition at different growth stages on the growth of plants and leaves. South African Journal of Agricultural Science 3, 197207.Google Scholar
Richards, F. J. (1959). A flexible growth function for empirical use. Journal of Experimental Botany 10, 290300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robson, M. J. (1972). The effect of temperature on the growth of S. 170 tall fescue (Festuca arundiacea). I. Constant temperature. Journal of Applied Ecology 9, 643653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoch, P. G. (1974). Reprise d'activitè des premières feuilles de Vigna sinensis L. à la suite de defoliations. Physiologie végétale 12, 289298.Google Scholar
Shibles, R., Anderson, I. C. & Gibson, A. H. (1975). Soybean. In Crop Physiology (ed. Evans, L. T.), pp. 151189. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Summerfield, R. J. (1977). Vegetative growth, reproductive ontogeny and seed yield of selected tropical grain legumes. In Crop Protection Agents, Their Biological Evaluation (ed. McFarlane, N. A.), pp. 251271. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Summerfield, R. J., Minchin, F. R., Stewart, K. A. & Ndunguru, B.J. (1978). Growth, reproductive development and yield of effectively nodulated cowpea plants in contrasting aerial environments. Annals of Applied Biology 90, 227291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watts, W. R. (1974). Leaf extension in Zea mays. III. Field measurement of leaf extension in response to temperature and leaf water potential. Journal of Experimental Botany 25, 10851096.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wienk, J. F. (1963). Photoperiodic effects in Vigna unguiculata L. Mededelingen van de Landbruwhogeschool te Wageningen 63, 183.Google Scholar
Williams, C. N. & Biddiscombe, E. F. (1965). Extension growth of grass tillers in the field. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 16, 1422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodward, R. G. (1976). Photosynthesis and expansion of leaves of soybean grown in two environments. Photosynthetica 10, 274279.Google Scholar