Dayana Lúcia Mota Pinheiro Bernardino*, Andréia Márcia Santos de Souza David, Lucas Jesus Leal Pimenta, Angela Gabryelle Teixeira Alves, José Almir Esposo Barbosa, Silvânio Rodrigues dos Santos, João Rafael Prudêncio dos Santos, Amanda Maria Leal Pimenta, Monizauberto Mateus Araújo Cardoso and Ane Beatriz Fernandes Costa
Department of Agricultural Sciences, State University of Montes Claros, Janaúba, Brazil
Bernardino, D. L. M. P., David, A. M. S. de S., Pimenta, L. J. L., Alves, A. G. T., Barbosa, J. A. E., dos Santos, S. R., dos Santos, J. R. P., Pimenta, A. M. L., Cardoso, M. M. A. & Costa, A. B. F. (2026). Physiological quality of cowpea seeds under different water regimes. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 32(1), 85–93
Cowpea is one of the most cultivated legumes in the world and plays an important role in Brazilian agricultural production. In this sense, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the physiological quality of cowpea seeds from plants subjected to different water regimes. The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, with four replications. The treatments were arranged in an experimental arrangement of subdivided plots involving five levels of water replacement in the soil, via evapotranspirometric demand (120; 100; 80; 60, and 40% of ETo) in the plots and four cultivars of cowpea (BRS Rouxinol, BRS Novaera, BRS Tumucumaque and BRS Itaim) in the subplots. The harvest was carried out 90 days after planting. Water content, mass of 1000 seeds, germination, first germination count, germination speed index, root protrusion, seedling length, and fresh and dry mass of seedlings were determined. Under the conditions in which the work was carried out, all levels of water replacement favor the physiological quality of the seeds of the studied cultivars. Seeds of BRS Novaera and BRS Itaim cultivars showed better physiological potential. Smaller amounts of water are recommended for the production of quality seeds.