Cowpea is a tolerant crop to water deficit, with moderate protein and mineral contents, as well as fast cooking, which are important requirements for semi-arid regions. This study aimed to evaluate the retention of total proteins and minerals after cooking in cowpea genotypes, in order to select those that best preserve these nutrients contents. Twenty-four genotypes were evaluated, being ten lines, five commercial cultivars and nine landraces maintained by farmers. Cooking had a reduced effect on the contents of protein, potassium, calcium, iron and zinc in cowpea grains, with significant effects only in a few genotypes. A significant and positive correlation was observed only for grain yield x zinc content and protein content x cooking time. The line CPCR3F6L17 presented a high grain yield and high levels of protein, potassium, iron and zinc after cooking, showing to be a promising option for the studied region.

The aim of this study was to estimate adaptability and stability parameters in genotypes of cowpea for the yield of immature seeds and pods and mature dried seeds, in order to enable the recommendation of cultivars for the region of São Francisco Submedium valley. We evaluated 30 cowpea genotypes, being fourteen lines of Embrapa Semiarid, six commercial cultivars and 10 landraces in the municipalities of Juazeiro-BA and Petrolina-PE. The experiments were conducted in the second semester, during the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. For adaptability and stability analysis, the methodologies of Eberhart and Russell, Lin and Binns were used, in addition to the multiplicative method, based on principal components analysis (AMMI). A significant difference was observed for the mean squares of treatments in all environments, as well as the pooled ANOVA (P<0.01) for the effects of genotypes (G), environments (E) and G*E interaction. The lines P290, P303, P508 and PC950409D02E showed yield of immature seeds exceeding 2140 kg ha-1 , broad stability and good predictability in the series of evaluated environments, and has great potential to be recommended as new cultivars for the region of São Francisco Submedium Valley.

Seed color, brightness and texture are important aspects for the consumption of immature beans. This study aimed to estimate the phenotypic variability among thirty cowpea genotypes for immature seed harvesting, in order to guide breeding programs. The experiment was carried out in a randomized blocks design, with three replications. The evaluated traits were immature seeds yield, pods and dry seeds production, number of immature pods, 100-immature seeds weight, immature pods length, number of seeds per immature pod, cooking time, harvesting period of immature pods, seed color, pod color, plant growth habit, opening of immature pods, seed threshing from immature pods, cultivation value and seed browning after threshing. Anova and three clustering methods were applied: UPGMA using the Jaccard coefficient of similarity; modified Tocher method based on the Gower algorithm; and k-means. All the analyses were performed based on the variable means of experiments evaluated in six environments. A statistically significant phenotypic variability was observed among all the quantitative traits. Discrepancies occurred in the accessions grouping and number of clusters. The accession BRS Acauã, in one group, and P508 and PCCR3F6L15, in other groups, showed a good quality for immature grain harvesting, were consistently grouped into different clusters and are recommended for use as parents in the development of new cultivars.

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