<div>Background: The improvement in livestock productivity may be possible by availing better quality fodder in adequate quantity to the dairy farmers. Zinc deficiency might be a major factor for lower quality fodder of cowpea. 
 
Methods: The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design; comprised of three cowpea cultivars viz., C-152, MFC-08-14 and MFC-09-1 and five zinc management practices viz., control; 10 kg ZnSO4 as basal; 20 kg ZnSO4 as basal; 0.5% ZnSO4 as foliar spray at 20 DAS; 0.5% ZnSO4 as foliar spray at 20 and 40 DAS. 
 
Result: Results revealed that C-152 showed significantly better quality in terms of higher dry matter, crude protein and total ash; and lower acid insoluble ash, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin amongst all the three varieties. Though, remarkably higher ether extract was obtained with MFC-08-14. Among the zinc management practices, 20 kg ZnSO4&nbsp;as basal (Zn3) and foliar application of 0.5% ZnSO4 at 20 and 40 DAS (Zn5) recorded significant improvement in fodder yield and quality traits of cowpea.</div>

​​Effect of Zinc Fertilization on Nutritional Quality of Cowpea Cultivars

<div>Background: Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata&nbsp;(L.) Walp.] is an important food legume in the drier region and an essential component of the tropics and subtropics for the cropping system. Heavy infestation of cowpea by root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita led to early senescence of the crop. The experiment was carried out to determine the potential level and the extent of yield loss in cowpea due to root knot nematode.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: A pot culture study and a field experiment were conducted to determine pathogenic potential level of root knot nematode and to determine the yield loss in cowpea with various treatment of 10, 100, 1000 and 10000 freshly hatched juveniles.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The treatment with nematicide, Carbofuran 3G @ 3 kg a.i./ha, reduced the final nematode population i.e., 50.94% in soil, 46.12% on root and 46.51% decrease in root knot index. The present study revealed that 1000 J2/pot was the ETL level that reduced all the growth parameters of cowpea and avoidable yield loss of 15.78% was recorded in Ccowpea due to M. incognita.</div>

​​Effect of Zinc Fertilization on Nutritional Quality of Cowpea Cultivars

​Pathogenicity of Root Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and its Effect on Yield of Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]

Effect of Zinc Fertilization on Nutritional Quality of Cowpea Cultivars

Pathogenicity of Root Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and its Effect on Yield of Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]