The Korean Journal of Crop Science ISSN:0252-9777(Print) 2287-8432(Online) 한국작물학회지

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sowing time on ecological responses, growth, and yields of cowpeas grown in plastic greenhouses in a southern region of South Korea. Experiments were carried out in Naju, Jeonnam Province (Latitude 35° 04' N, Longitude 126° 54' E) during 2012 and 2013. The intermediate-erect type strains used in this study were Jeonnam1 and Jeonnam2. Sowing was performed between mid-March and mid-August at intervals of one month. The days from sowing to emergence was significantly higher for the mid-March sowing (12 days) but no significant differences were observed among the other sowing dates (3 to 4 days). The days from sowing to first flowering were shorter for sowing dates between mid-March and mid-July because sowing time was delayed and then were lengthened again at mid-August sowing; the days were longest at mid-March sowing (around 75 days) and were shortest at mid-July sowing (30 days). The days from first flowering to harvesting were short for the sowing dates between mid-March and mid-May (24 to 28 days) but were relatively long for subsequent sowing dates (35 to 38 days). Stem and peduncle lengths were relatively long for the mid-April and mid-August sowing dates. Main-stem node number was highest for the mid-June sowing. Branch number per plant was highest for the mid-March sowing. The mid-March sowing displayed the highest number of pods per plant as well as the heaviest seed weight. Yield per 10 ares was highest for the mid-March sown Jeonnam1 and the Jeonnam2 strains (340 and 367 kg respectively), and then tended to decrease due to subsequent delays in sowing.