10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Cowpea is a strategic and vital crop for developing nations due to its contributions to food security and economic development for farmers. The crop is susceptible to numerous viruses which are spread by insect vectors and seeds causing severe damages to cowpea fields. Seed-borne viruses severely impact agriculture creating significant economic damage and present a huge challenge in the management of cowpea viral diseases worldwide. The study carried out in Kwara-State north-central Nigeria, sought to evaluate the seed-borne viruses of cowpea and the transmission potential to cowpea seedlings. Cowpea seed varieties comprising of local landraces and improved varieties were randomly collected from 40 farm locations in the forest and savanna agroecological zones. A total of 400 seeds were assayed by ACP-ELISA to identify 4 viruses which infect cowpea in Nigeria. Six representative seed varieties were subjected to potted experiment to determine virus transmission to seedlings. The result of the identification of viruses indicated the prominence of CPMoV along with CABMV, CYMV and BICMV. The viruses occurred singly and in mixed infections of the 4 viruses, confirming the presence of seed-borne viruses on cowpea. The pot investigation revealed high virus transmission rate of 13.1% to 19.4%, implying infected seeds can enable the rapid establishment of viruses to seedlings. These findings are of grave concern owing to the possibility of huge crop losses, famine and food insecurity. The key strategies to curb this menace should include developing virus resistant cowpea seed varieties for planting and improving diagnostic tools for regular virus assessment.