Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. it is the main legume crop in Africa. It is the main source of protein for half of the population of sub-Saharan Africa. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Nigeria is the most populous country in West Africa and also produces the largest amount of cowpea. Its urban population is growing by leaps and bounds and, therefore, it also imports a lot of cowpeas from all its neighbors. Cowpeas, also called kidney beans, are eaten by approximately 400 million people in the tropics as part of their daily diet. . It is often called "poor man's meat", because beans provide a highly nutritious food, containing proteins, fibre, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and micronutrients. Beans also provide income to millions of people, particularly in Africa and Latin America. Cowpea is native to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and is grown on approximately 14 million hectares worldwide, with more than 84% in SSA. Between 1985 and 2007, the growth rate was 4.5% in cowpea area, 4.5% in grain yield/ha and 5.9% in cowpea quantity. eye product. These data indicate that the increase in the amount of grain produced over the period resulted primarily from an expansion of land area and less from an improvement in yield/unit area. In well-managed experimental stations yields of up to 2 t/ha can be achieved but overall the average yield is around 450 kg/ha. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is considered one of the horticultural crops that have importance for local consumption. Studies have shown that losses on legumes during post-harvest, drying and storage are significantly high. This is due to pod cracking in the field, inadequate drying systems, insect damage, mold, insect infestations, and/or diseases that typically begin in the field and proceed during storage. Legumes can receive inadequate care on the farm or in temporary storage and become heavily invaded by hidden storage fungi. When transferred to another warehouse, it can deteriorate more quickly than a truly healthy legume. Invasion by storage fungi can occur soon after harvest. During storage, favorable growth of mushrooms occurs due to lack of storage facilities and good packaging materials. These factors provide the appropriate environment for successful establishment of fungi on food products. Since fungi are serious parasites of stored grains, their invasion can cause serious damage such as decreased germination, discoloration of the embryo, heating and mold, weight loss, etc. Furthermore, fungi can degrade the fabric of the food product, causing bad taste and decreasing the nutritional value. The storage of cowpeas has always been limited by pests and diseases which have led to their deterioration. The main constraints to cowpea storage are insect pests and fungal diseases that cause a variety of losses, including decreased germination, discoloration, heating and mold, and change in taste. Examples of fungi that cause this include; Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungi associated with stored foods and agricultural products have been classified into two types: field and storage fungi. Most storage fungi are molds. Although cereals naturally acquire a mold flora in the field and afterharvested, normally have little consequence unless environmental conditions favor fungal growth. Therefore, inadequate storage conditions predispose grains to fungal spoilage, which is exacerbated by insect damage. Climatic conditions in tropical countries often provide ideal conditions for high growth of molds that develop on or in seeds with moisture content within the storage container. Therefore, for efficient storage of cowpea, control measures must be taken through the use of good storage containers, use of conventional chemicals and use of plant materials. People use different storage containers to store cowpea, the most common are polythene bags, sacks, plastic and cans. Additionally, most households add pesticides (e.g., photoxin) and fungicides to stored cowpeas to control pests and diseases. The indiscriminate use of these chemicals can cause health and environmental risks. Therefore, the use of environmentally friendly substances such as plant parts is necessary. Various plants are known to have antimicrobial properties and are used as promising biocontrol agents. Recently Alkhail (2005) demonstrated that aqueous extracts of plants such as Allium sativum, Cymbopogon proxims, Carum carvi, Azadirachta indica and Eugenia caryophyllus had strong antifungal activity against fungi such as Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solani. Most botanical pesticides are known to be general biocides or bioirritants. Therefore, any conservation method aimed at preventing or delaying the invasion of these fungi and creating unfavorable conditions for their growth and multiplication will help improve seed quality. In this project work, the most efficient material and/or storage container will be evaluated. General Purpose/Objective To determine the effects of different containers and botanicals in managing the quality of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) seeds. Specific Objectives To evaluate the effects of different storage materials on seed health and potential of cowpea. Evaluate the potency of different botanicals such as biopesticides on seed borne storage. Identify the appropriate storage container and botanist for maintaining cowpea seed health during the storage period. Compare the effects of botanicals with a standard synthetic fungicide on the incidence and severity of fungi transmitted by cowpea seeds stored in different materials/containers. Literature Review There is great morphological diversity found within the crop, and growing conditions and grower preferences for each variety vary from region to region (Padulosil and Ng, 1997). However, since the plant primarily self-pollinates, its genetic diversity within varieties is relatively low (Egbadzor et al., 2014). Cowpeas can be short and bushy (up to 20 centimeters (7.9 in)) or act like a vine by climbing up supports or trailing along the ground (up to a height of 2 meters (6.6 ft) ) (Sheehan 2012; National Research Council 2016). The tap root can penetrate to a depth of 2.4 meters (7.9 ft) after eight weeks (Davis, 1991). The size and shape of leaves vary greatly, making this an important characteristic for classifying and distinguishing cowpea varieties (Pottorff et al., 2012). Another distinctive feature of cowpeas are the 20–50 centimeters (7.9–19.7 in) long stalks thatcontain flowers and pods. One peduncle can support four or more pods (Davis, 1991). The color of the flowers varies through different shades of purple, pink, yellow, and white and blue (National Research Council 2016). The seeds and pods of wild cowpeas are very small (Davis, 1991), while cultivated varieties can have pods between 10 and 110 centimeters (3.9 and 43.3 inches) in length (Rawal, 1975). A pod can contain 6–13 seeds that are usually kidney-shaped, although seeds become more spherical the further they are confined within the pod (Sheahan 2012; Davis 1991). Their texture and color are very different. They can have smooth or rough fur and be spotted, mottled or mottled. Colors include white, cream, green, red, brown, and black or various combinations (Davis, 1991). Africa has been suggested as the center of origin of the cowpea (Richard, 1847). This hypothesis has not been challenged because wild cowpea plants have been found in tropical Africa and Madagascar (Steele, 1976), 1 where they presumably were domesticated after the Neolithic age (Vanderborght, 2001). Pasquet (1991) suggested that the most likely ancestor of the domesticated cowpea is V. unguiculata ssp. unguiculata var. spontaneous. To determine the precise site of domestication and centers of diversity of cowpea, numerous studies have been conducted in recent decades, although it has been difficult to reach a conclusive result. Several hypotheses have been proposed for cowpea domestication, such as Ethiopia (Steele 1976; Vavilov 1926; Pasquet 2000), West Africa (Murdock 1959; Faris 1965; Rawal 1975; Vaillancourt and Weeden 1992; Ng 1995 ), and eastern and southern Africa ( Baudoin and Marechal, 1985 ). Coulibaly et al., (2002), using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and morphological data, concluded that the wild species was native to East Africa. In this case, domestication would have occurred in north-eastern Africa and the domesticated plant would then have probably been dispersed across west Africa. According to Ng and Padulosi (1988) West Africa appears to be the center of diversity of cultivated forms. 'Widespread' domestication in the African savannah after the dispersal of cereals has also been hypothesized (Steele 1986; Garba and Pasquet, 1988). The latter hypothesis was put forward by Harlan (1971), who believed that the cowpea was domesticated in Non-Central Africa. Whatever the place of domestication, the cowpea is an ancient legume that was domesticated by African gatherers, cultivators and farmers from its wild forms in Africa dating back to the Neolithic (Ba et al., 2004). During the Neolithic, cowpea was first introduced to India, then considered a secondary center of cowpea genetic diversity (Pant et al., 1982). The spread of cowpea to Asia occurred at the end of the Neolithic (third millennium BC), where the subspecies asparagus bean or long bean (V. unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis) is still cultivated for its long immature pods (Xu et al., 2011), as well as in America between the 16th and 17th centuries (AD) (Padulosi and Ng, 1997). Although some reports suggest that the cowpea has been cultivated in Europe since at least the 18th century BC and perhaps from prehistoric times onwards (Coulibaly et al., 2002; Tosti and Negri, 2002), others suggest that it was only introduced into Europe around 300 BC, where it still remains as a minor crop in the southern part (Badiane et al., 2014). From Europe, more precisely from Portugal and Spain, this legume was exported to the New World in the 17th century (Badiane et al., 2014; Fang et al., 2007). Another important result was.