Research on the Control of Diseases and Pests in Cowpea Culture in the Conditions of Sandy Soils in the South of Oltenia

Abstract

The study was carried out in the period 2021-2022 at the Research and Development Station for Plant Culture on Sands Dabuleni, Romania, with the aim of finding scientific solutions to reduce the incidence of attack produced by the identified harmful agents in the cowpea crop (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) sown in the conditions of the sandy soils of southern Oltenia, Romania. Various environmentally friendly products with a fungicidal and insecticidal role were tested, in order to promote sustainable agriculture, by applying two phytosanitary treatments in the phases of 3-4 true leaves and the appearance of flower stalks of the cowpea plant. The results obtained for cowpea highlighted the phytosanitary treatment with the Polyversumbiofungicide, in a dose of 0.1 kg/ha and the Bioinsekt insecticide, in doses of 0.5-1 l/ha, which achieved the best phytosanitary control over the attack produced by plant pests (AD=0.79%), correlated with an increase in resistance to stress conditions (bound water=3.42%; vacuolar juice concentration=10.2%) and high productivity (12.6 pods/plant, leaf index=8.04, production=2725.2 kg/ha).