New varieties of vegetable cowpea (Vigna unguiculata subsp. Sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc.) and prospects of their cultivation in southern Russia

Relevance. Currently, there is an interest in this country in vegetable varieties of Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc. However, a small number of varieties adapted to different cultivation conditions prevents a wider distribution of this crop. The present work was aimed at creating new vegetable cowpea varieties adapted to the climatic conditions of southern regions of Russia. Materials and methods. The study was carried out in 1998-2018 in the Astrakhan Province (Astrakhan Experiment Station) and in 2012-2018 in Primorsky Territory (Far East Experiment Station). Vegetable cowpea accessions from the global VIR collection were studied. Results. Many years of breeding have resulted in creation of such varieties as ‘Astrakhanskaya krasavitsa', ‘Kaspiyskaya zarya', ‘Zhemchyuzhina Kaspiya' and ‘Lyanchihe', which were included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2019. All varieties are characterized by earliness, high productivity, excellent quality of vegetable pods, high protein content in pods in the technical ripeness phase (29...