Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] has become one of the essential foods in the diet of populations in many regions of Brazil. It is a cultivar of great importance, especially for small producers who practice the traditional form of cultivation. However, studies about the characteristics of cultivars are still scarce, especially in the northern region of the country, since there is a great genetic variability in all its aspects. From this, the objective of this work was to carry out the physical and morphological characterization of dry and hydrated grains, in addition to evaluating the absorption capacity and the initial development of three cowpea cultivars from the western region of Pará. The experiments were implemented in DIC and the treatments corresponded to the three cultivars: roxinho (C1), manteiguinha (C2) and manteiguinha-preto (C3). For the physical characterization of the dry and wet grains, the following were measured: length, width, thickness, mass, shape and degree of flattening. The hydration capacity of the grains, volume and density was also evaluated. To monitor the initial development of cultivars, 5L vases were used. At 15, 30 and 40 days after sowing (DAS) the following parameters were measured: plant height (AP), stem diameter (DC) and number of leaves (NF). At the end of the experiment, also at 40 DAS, the following were evaluated: the fresh and dry mass of the main branch (MFRP and MSRP), of the secondary branches (MFRS and MSRS), of the root (MFR and MSR) and of the nodules (MFN and MSN ), in addition to the root volume (VR) and the number of nodules (NN). During the conduct of the experiment, the phenology of the three cultivars was monitored. The results obtained referring to the characterization of dry grains, presented a spherical shape and degree of flattening classified as full and semi-full, and after hydration, cultivars C1 and C2 assumed an elliptical shape, while C3 maintained a spherical shape. The C2 cultivar has more grains at 3 grams and higher density, with 1.28 g/mL. The grains of cultivar C1 had the highest volume and also the highest mass of 10 grains. Related to the initial development and duration of the phenological stages, variations of 1 to 5 days from V1 to V8 were observed between cultivars, with C3 being the first to reach the V9 stage, lasting 16 days, while C1 and C2 stayed for approximately 12 days. It was also found that in the DC and NF parameters, the C3 was superior to the 15, 30 and 40 DAS, in relation to the other cultivars. In the AP parameter, C2 was also superior in all evaluations. In the parameter MFRP and MSRP, MFRS, MFR and MSR, MFN and MSN the cultivars did not show statistical differences. Based on the observed results, it is possible to infer that the grain length of the evaluated cowpea cultivars was the measure most affected by hydration. Cultivar C2 reached the highest height during the study period. The three cultivars had a vegetative cycle of at least 40 days.
|
