Evaluation of the field performance of cowpea genotypes and their diallel cross under the influence of boron foliar spraying

• Dhufr Gheni Omar1 Othman Khalid Alwan2 Ali Faisal Aziz3

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The study was conducted during the 2024/2025 seasons in Baquba nursery of the Diyala Agriculture Directorate to study 12 cultivars of cowpea and evaluate the performance of their individual hybrids under the influence of spraying with two levels of boron (0-100) ml. L^-1 .The first season included the cultivation of cowpea cultivars. When the seeds germinated and the seedlings reached the appropriate size, samples were taken from the leaves to determine the genetic distance between the cultivars and to find their genetic fingerprint using the ISSR technique. On the basis of the results obtained, 6 cultivars with the greatest genetic divergence between them were chosen, which are (Romshron - NaNa - Riyadh - Black eye - Leader - White Local.(

These six cultivars were grown in the first agricultural season, and when they reached the flowering stage, they were introduced into  diallel cross program to produce first-generation F1 hybrids. In the second agricultural season, a comprehensive comparison of the genetic compositions was conducted, which included 15 hybrids and 6 parents. To study the effect of boron, plants were sprayed with boron. The experiment was carried out according to a split plot design within a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. The data were analyzed statistically using the statistical analysis program SAS, and the averages were compared using the Multiple Range Test Duncan,s, at a probability level of 0.05.

The results of spraying with boron showed of several parents excelled in traits of vegetative growth. The father (5) (Leader) was excelled in traits of per-plant yield, total yield, and pod weight. The father (3) (Al-Riyadh) was excelled in traits of pod length and number of seeds, and the father (4) (Black Eye) was excelled in the number of pods. The results of the analysis showed that the 1x3 hybrid was significantly excelled in traits of average pod weight, number of seeds, and pod length, while the 1x5 hybrid was significantly excelled in traits of per-plant yield and total yield, and the 4x2 hybrid was excelled in number of pods.The results of the study showed that spraying with boron produced significant effects in all the studied traits, where the spraying treatment with boron excelled the concentration of 100 ml. L^-1 achieved the highest values ​​for all the studied traits.

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