Harvesting, seed saving and storage of cowpea

When the cowpea reaches a certain maturity, it needs to be picked and then stored. Here are the specific methods:

Cowpea harvest

After sowing the long beans, the tender pods can be harvested after about 60 days (spring sowing) or 40 days (summer sowing). After flowering, the pods are fully grown and the tissues are tender. The seeds should be harvested in time when they are just exposed. The yield is high. Each inflorescence of cowpea has more than two pairs of flower buds, and usually only one pair of pods is formed. If there is sufficient fertilizer and water, timely harvesting and no damage to other buds on the inflorescence, part of the inflorescence can bloom and pod more, which can increase the pod setting rate and increase the yield. Pick every 4-5 days in the early stage of picking, and every 1-2 days in the peak fruiting period. The harvesting period is about 30-40 days. The yield per mu of dwarf varieties is 600-800 kg, and that of creeping varieties is 1250-1500 kg.

Cowpea seed saving

Cowpea seed can be divided into summer sowing and autumn sowing. The seed plants should be selected from plants with the characteristics of this variety, disease-free, low pod nodes, concentrated and numerous pods, with the same size of paired seed pods and neatly arranged grains. The middle and lower pods should be selected for seeding, and the upper pods should be removed in time to make the grains full. When the pod seed wall is fully soft and the epidermis is withered and yellow, it can be harvested, hung indoors to dry in the shade and then threshed. After drying, the seeds are put into a cylinder while hot and sealed for storage or a few drops of dichlorvos are dripped into the cylinder and a few Zhangnao pills are placed for sealed storage to prevent bean worms from harming. If there are a small number of seeds, the pods can also be hung in a ventilated and dry place indoors without threshing. They can be taken out and threshed before sowing the following year. The seed vitality is generally 1-2 years. Pay attention to the timing of autumn sowing.

Cowpea Storage

Fresh cowpeas that have just been picked should be kept fresh in an emergency, usually sealed in plastic bags. The temperature should be kept between 10 and 25 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too low, the taste of the cooked cowpeas will be very bad and they will not be cooked well. If the temperature is too high, the moisture of the cowpeas will evaporate too quickly, forming dry and flat shells, which will affect the taste of the cooking and will also easily rot and deteriorate.

To collect dried products, use freshly picked cowpeas, boil them in boiling water until they are cooked but not mushy, then take them out and drain them, dry them in the sun or use a drying machine. When you need them, take them out and soak them in cold water until they are soft. They taste sweet and delicious, with a long aftertaste.