ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted in the 2003 cropping season at Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike experimental fan to study the response of' four vegetable COWC cultivars to varying intra-row spacing. The experiment was laid out as a split-plot design in a Randomized complete Block Design replicated three times. The cultivars of vegetable cowpea (Alcidi-ani, Alcidi-enu, l'l'8Ol' 20 I 4- I and l'l'8 II)-. I 228-1 4) was the main plot while the subplot treatments was the intra-row spacing (1 0,20,30 and 40cm). Data was collected on growth, yield and yield components. The cultivars effect on plant height was highly significant (P<0.00 I ) at 3WAP, 5WAP and 7WAP while the intra-row spacing was not significant at 3WAP, 5WAP and 7WAP. Interaction effect between cultivars and intra-row spacing was not significant at 5WAP and 7WAP but was significant at 3WAP. The cultivars effect on leaf area was significant at 3WAP, (p<O.05) highly significantly at 7WAP but 3WAP, (P<0.05) highly significantly at 7WAP but was not significant at SWAP(P<0.05) while spacing and interaction effect was not significantly different at 3WAP, 5WAP and 7WAP. The effect of cultivars on leaf area index was not significant at 3WAP and 5WAP but was significant at 7WAP (p<O.05). The intra-row spacing was highly significant (P<0.001) at 3WAP, 5wap, AND 7WAP while the interaction between ctiltivars and spacing was not significant at 3WAP and 5WAP but significant at 7WAP. On yield and yield components, the cultivars effect on yield per hectare was significant while the interaction between cultivars and intra-row spacing on pod yield (t!ha) showed that IT8lD-1 128-14 had the highest yield at 10 ((/ha) followed by IT8OF-2014-1 at 30cm (tlha). The interaction effect between cultivars and spacing on all the yield attributes was not significant except the number of peduncles per  plants.