In Chittoor dt, Cowpea has been grown in an area of 200 ha. But farmers are growing local non-descriptive varieties which are highly susceptible to pests and diseases and also pod and seed size are smaller which is reducing market value and also increasing cost of cultivation. In order to overcome these problems a new variety of Cowpea TPTC 29 (Tirupati Cowpea 1), released in the year 2017 by RARS, Tirupati was introduced in the district by Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kalikiri by conducting On Farm Trials and Front Line Demonstrations in farmers fields. This variety matures in 80-90 days, not sensitive to light. It is used as vegetable and also for seed purpose because of its long pod and bold seed. It has yield potential of 1000-1100 kg/ha. KVK, Kalikiri assessed the performance of TPTC 29 over Meghana in Front Line Demonstrations from 2018-19 to 2020-21. Yield attributes and yield are higher in TPTC 29 compared to Meghana. Yield of TPTC 29 and Meghana were 9.0 q ha-1 and 7.7 q ha-1 respecti

Cowpea, Yield, Economics.

Local variety Meghana is highly susceptible to pests and diseases which increased the cost of cultivation and also fetched less market value because of its smaller seed and pod size. TPTC 29 performed well compared to Meghana. Pod length, pod weight, seed size, seed weight of TPTC 29 are higher than Meghana which resulted in higher yield compared to Meghana variety which is locally grown by farmers. In future this variety can spread in the entire state more rapidly.

Deva, S., Mallikarjun, M., Ravuri, P.L. and Kumar, M.R. (2021). Performance of Cowpea variety TPTC 29 in Western mandals of Chittoor dt. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 13(2): 629-632.