Diseases of Cowpea - Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.

This chapter provides information on diseases of Cowpea - Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp, their symptoms, pathogen characters, epidemiology, and management. The diseases covered are dry root rot and stem blight, cercospora leaf spot, anthracnose and die back, powdery mildew, brown rust, southern blight, bacterial blight, and cowpea aphid-borne mosaic. Conidiophores are short, erect, hyaline and umbranched. Conidia are hyaline, single celled and oblong or cylindrical with rounded ends. Fusarium oxysporum Infects soybean also microconidia are hyaline oblong or oval and single celled. Macroconidia are falcate-shaped, hyaline, thin walled and 4–5 septate. Chlamydospores present. Pycnidia are ostiolate and produces hyaline, cylindrical to ovate, single celled pycnidiospores. Sclerotia are minute and black. C. cruenta infects velvet bean, lime bean, French bean, hyacinth bean, long bean and Bambara grounds. Infected plant debris is soil, collateral hosts and infected seeds, dormant mycelium in infected plant debris, wind-borne conidia.