Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is a widely cultivated crop for food and animal feed, with a high potential for alleviation of climate change effects on crop production due to its biological nitrogen fixing ability. However, its yields are low in Ethiopia partly due to poor agronomic practices such as lack of improved varieties, low soil fertility, and limited input use including bio-inoculants. Field experiments were conducted in the cropping seasons 2018 and 2019 at three climate change and food insecurity vulnerable sites in Ethiopia (Boricha, Dore, and Hawassa) to determine yield responses of cowpea varieties to Bradyrhizobium inoculation. Four cowpea varieties, Keti (IT99K-1122), TVU, Black eye bean, and White wonderer trailing in combination with three inoculation levels (un-inoculated or inoculated with Bradyrhizobium strains CP-24 or CP-37) were used in a factorial randomized complete block design with four replications. Results revealed significant varietal differences in crop yield and yield components over years and across sites. Averaged over the seasons, seed yield of TVU was higher by 52% compared to the low-yielding Black eye bean variety. On average of the three sites, inoculation of cowpea with strain CP-24 significantly increased seed yield (21%), pod number (16%), and 100-seed weight (13%) relative to the control. Furthermore, the interaction between variety and inoculant resulted in a significant increase in seed yield and number of pods per plant of TVU × CP-24 by 60 and 68%, respectively, as compared to the un-inoculated treatment. Overall, inoculation of the cowpea varieties TVU and White wonderer trailing with Bradyrhizobium strains CP-24 is recommended at all the three tested sites and similar agro-ecological environments for improved productivity of cowpea.

中文翻译：

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田间豇豆品种对慢生根瘤菌接种的产量反应

豇豆 [ Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] 是一种广泛种植的粮食和动物饲料作物，由于其生物固氮能力，在缓解气候变化对作物生产的影响方面具有很高的潜力。然而，埃塞俄比亚的产量低，部分原因是农艺实践不佳，例如缺乏改良品种、土壤肥力低以及包括生物接种剂在内的投入使用有限。在 2018 和 2019 年的种植季节，在埃塞俄比亚的三个气候变化和粮食不安全脆弱地点（Boricha、Dore 和 Hawassa）进行了田间试验，以确定豇豆品种对慢生根瘤菌的产量反应接种。四个豇豆品种，Keti (IT99K-1122)、TVU、黑眼豆和 White Wonderer 尾随三种接种水平（未接种或接种慢生根瘤菌）菌株 CP-24 或 CP-37) 用于因子随机完全区组设计，重复四次。结果显示，不同年份和不同地点的作物产量和产量构成存在显着的品种差异。平均而言，TVU 的种子产量比低产黑眼豆品种高 52%。平均而言，在三个地点中，接种 CP-24 菌株的豇豆与对照相比显着增加了种子产量 (21%)、豆荚数 (16%) 和 100 粒种子重量 (13%)。此外，与未接种处理相比，品种和接种剂之间的相互作用导致 TVU × CP-24 的种子产量和每株豆荚数分别显着增加了 60% 和 68%。总体而言，豇豆品种 TVU 和 White Wonderer 尾随接种在所有三个测试地点和类似的农业生态环境中推荐使用慢生根瘤菌菌株 CP-24，以提高豇豆的生产力。