For a variety of agronomic reasons, landraces have strategic importance for cowpea Vigna
unguiculata (L.) Walp. genetic breeding programs. The aim of the current research was to identify black
aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch resistance in cowpea landraces. Twenty-three landraces from different regions
of the state of Ceará, Brazil, were compared to four literature-cited standards: BRS Guariba and TVu 408
P2 (resistant); BR 17-Gurguéia and VITA 7 (susceptible). Experiments were conducted in a greenhouse
located at Campus do Pici, Universidade Federal do Ceará, in Fortaleza, Ceará state, Brazil. A completely
randomized block design was used, with six replicates, each composed of one plant in a 300 mL pot. Plants
were individually infested with five six-day-old adult insects. Adults were subsequently evaluated two days
after infestation and nymphs at four days. Six landraces were highly resistant (Um-named 1-DIP, Feijão de
arrancada, Feijão moitinha, Feijão de moita, Cara preta and Roxim miúdo) to levels compatible to the BRS
Guariba standard. Three other landraces (Feijão da Bahia, Cojó and Feijão da Consuelo Rocha) showed
moderate resistance, similar to the TVu 408 P2 standard. In addition to the high genetic variability found in the
landraces, antibiosis was the main resistance mechanism observed.