Cowpea provides the cheapest source of protein with an average range of protein content of 23–30%. However, cowpea growth, development, and yield are greatly affected by drought during flowering and pod filling in the sub-Sahelian areas. The best way to cope with this situation is to develop drought-tolerant cowpea varieties. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate cowpea lines developed through mutagenesis using gamma radiation to assess their reaction under optimal and water-stressed conditions. The response of ten mutants-irradiated Moussa local was then evaluated in pots arranged in a split plot design in a screen house. Two conditions were applied with optimum and water-stressed conditions. The stress was applied for two weeks at flowering. Two cowpea varieties Gorom local (drought-tolerant) and Moussa local (susceptible) nonirradiated were used as checks. Thereafter, field trials under two different sowing dates were conducted to identify the best tolerant mutant line(s) using agromorphological and tolerance indicators. The results indicated that mutant lines (MoussaM51-4P10 and MoussaM43-20P14) exhibited better stress tolerance and produced higher yield under water stress conditions. Stress Tolerance Index (STI) was better to select cowpea mutant tolerant with higher yielding under moderate stress (SI = 35%). The study confirmed that water stress has a negative effect on cowpea seeds production and on leaf chlorophyll content. The high temperature during experiment increased water stress effect mainly on non-irradiated checks (Gorom local and Moussa local).

Molecular-assi sted backcrossing (MABC) was used to introgre ss drought tolerance, Striga and rootknot nematode resi stance QTLs into a farmer-preferred widely grown cowpea landrace adapted for intercropping in Burkina Faso. Two backcross populations were developed using two drought tolerant donor lines IT93K-503-1 (nematode resi stant) and IT97K-499-35 (Striga resi stant) and the drought sensi tive landrace Moussa Local as the recurrent parent. A set of 184 genomewide EST-derived SNP markers spanning an average of 2-cM intervals and flanking known trait positions was em ployed for genotyping the backcross progenies using the cowpea KASP genotyping platform. BC 1 F 1 individual plants that were heterozygous for SNP s associated with drought tolerance, Striga and/or nematode resi stance (foreground S NP s) and carried as many recurrent-parent alleles as possi ble at other SNP loci (background SNP s) were selected for the next backcross cycle. This proce ss was repeated to produce BC 3 F 1 families of each donor population. The six best families from the two donors based on marker aided selection and preliminary yield performance under well-watered and water-restricted field trials and Striga resi stance screening were selfed to increase seed (BC 3 F 2) for further yield tests. Thi s study demonstrated the high efficiency of using SNP markers i n foreground and background marker selection in a MABC scheme to improve a widely grown cowpea variety by adding drought tolerance and biotic stress resistance traits.

Cowpea is essential in the diet in Burkina Faso. The information on their physical properties and cooking quality is important for consumer acceptance. This study has therefore been undertaken in order to fill the gap. Thus, six cowpea varieties were evaluated for their physical and cooking properties. The seeds had between 9% to 12% moisture. For physical proprieties, the result revealed that the variety Makoyin had the highest seed length (9.65 mm), the variety Gourgou recorded the highest seed width (7.08 mm), seed thickness (5.13 mm), and seed area (153.29 mm 2 ), and 100-seeds weight (21.1 g). The lowest seed sizes were presented by the variety Teeksongo with values of 7.88 mm, 6.34 mm, 4.88 mm, 122.68 mm 2 , and 16.87 g for respectively the length, the width, the thickness, the area, and the 100-seeds weight. The variety Makoyin produces seed elliptical form and varieties Neerwaya, Gourgou, Yipoussi and Issa-sosso, and Teek-songo the seeds spherical form. For cooking proprieties, the highest value of the bulk density of the seeds was presented in the variety Teek-song (1.51 g/ml). The highest hydration and swelling capacity were observed in varieties Gourgou (0.22 g/seed and 0.24 ml/seed respectively) and Yipoussi (0.22 g/seed and 0.21 ml/seed respectively). The seed with large size, greater hydration, and swelling capacity is preferred by consumers and processors for food products. Varieties Makoyin, Neerwaya, Gourgou, Yipoussi, and Issa-sosso presented cooking time of unsoaked seeds equal to one hour (from 60 to 68 min) excepted Teek-songo which had 46 min. These cooking times are acceptable for consumers. Seed length, surface area, thickness, the weight of seeds, hydration capacity, and

Cowpea is consumed as a staple food in many developing countries. The present study was undertaken to determine the variation in mineral elements and phytate concentrations in 30 cowpeas seeds varieties consumed in Burkina Faso. The composition of the thirty cowpeas seeds in total mineral varies from 5.08 % ± 0.00 to 3.55 % ± 0.08. The genotype CR06-07 showed the high content of total mineral (ashes) and the genotype Kondesyoungo local, the low content of ashes. IT81D-994 showed the high content of iron (7.07 ± 0.057 mg/100g of seeds dw), zinc (4.42 ± 0.012 mg/100 g of seeds dw), magnesium (239.80 ± 1.192 mg/100 g of seeds dw), calcium (123.39 ± 2.31 mg /100 g of seeds dw) and potassium (1201.97 ± 25.66 mg/100 g of seeds dw). Na and Se levels in the seeds showed about 4.5-fold and 7.6-fold variations between the cowpeas varieties. The genotype komcallé showed the high content of sodium (5.45 ± 0.20 mg/100 g of seeds dw) and the genotype KVx 414-22-2 had the high content of selenium (0.006 ± 0.0002 mg/100 g of seeds dw). The phytate content of the cowpeas genotypes varied from 555.61 ± 7.48 for TVU 14676 to 13.50 ± 1.14 mg/100 g of seeds dw for KVx 30-309-6G. The [Phy]/[Fe], [Phy]/[Zn], [Phy]/[Ca] and [Phy] x [Ca]/[Zn] ratios showed that the phytate content might compromise the Fe, Zn and Ca bioavailability in some cowpeas varieties. This study indicates that the cowpeas varieties might be considered as mineral source suitable for animal and human consumption.