Abstract
Nowadays, agriculture is facing the great challenge of climate change which puts the productivity of the crops in peril due to unpredictable rain patterns and water shortages, especially in the developing world. Besides productivity, nutritional values of the yields of these crops may also be affected, especially under low mechanization and the low water availability conditions of the developing world. Conservation agriculture (CA) is a topic of emerging interest due to the provision of adequate yields and reduced environmental impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, by being based on three main principles: minimum soil disturbance (reduced or no tillage), cover crop maintenance, and crop rotation. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of CA management on the growth performance and the nutritional profile of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp), a pulse of African origin, commonly known as black eye bean under field conditions. A field experiment was designed to assess the effect of conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) combined with the usage of a set of cover crops, coupled to normal and deficient water regimes. Cowpea was revealed to be able to grow and yield comparably at each level of the treatment tested, with a better ability to face water exhaustion under CA management. After a faster initial growth phase in CT plots, the level of adaptability of this legume to NT was such that growth performances improved significantly with respect to CT plots. The flowering rate was higher and earlier in CT conditions, while in NT it was slower but longer-lasting. The leafy photosynthetic rate and the nutritional profile of beans were slightly influenced by tillage management: only total starch content was negatively affected in NT and watered plots while proteins and aminoacids did not show any significant variation. Furthermore, significantly higher carbon and nitrogen concentration occurred in NT soils especially at the topmost (0–5 cm) soil horizon. These findings confirm the capability of CA to enrich soil superficial horizons and highlight that cowpea is a suitable crop to be grown under sustainable CA management. This practice could be pivotal to preserve soils and to save agronomical costs without losing a panel of nutrients that are important to the human diet. Due to its great protein and aminoacidic composition, V. unguiculata is a good candidate for further cultivation in regions of the word facing deficiencies in the intake of such nutrients, such as the Mediterranean basins and Sub-Saharan countries.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Cowpea grew and yielded comparably across tested treatments.
- Taxon
- Cowpea
Vigna unguiculatae0 - Treatment
- treatment testede0
- Outcome
- grow and yield comparablye0
- Direction
- comparablye0
- Comparator
- each levele0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Cowpea was revealed to be able to grow and yield comparably at each level of the treatment tested”
Claim · model-written summary
Cowpea faced water exhaustion better under conservation agriculture management.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- CA managemente0
- Outcome
- ability to face water exhaustione0
- Direction
- bettere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a better ability to face water exhaustion under CA management”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
Initial cowpea growth was faster in conventional tillage plots.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- CT plotse0
- Outcome
- initial growth phasee0
- Direction
- fastere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“After a faster initial growth phase in CT plots”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
Cowpea growth performance significantly improved under no tillage relative to conventional tillage.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- NTe0
- Outcome
- growth performancese0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Comparator
- CT plotse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“adaptability of this legume to NT was such that growth performances improved significantly with respect to CT plots”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
Flowering rate was higher and earlier under conventional tillage.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- CT conditionse0
- Outcome
- flowering ratee0
- Direction
- higher and earliere0
- Comparator
- NTe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The flowering rate was higher and earlier in CT conditions, while in NT it was slower but longer-lasting.”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
Flowering was slower but longer lasting under no tillage.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- NTe0
- Outcome
- flowering ratee2
- Direction
- slower but longer-lastinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“in NT it was slower but longer-lasting”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
e2“flowering rate”
Claim · model-written summary
Leaf photosynthetic rate was slightly influenced by tillage management.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- tillage managemente0
- Outcome
- leafy photosynthetic ratee0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The leafy photosynthetic rate and the nutritional profile of beans were slightly influenced by tillage management”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
Total starch content was negatively affected in no tillage and watered plots.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- NT and watered plotse0
- Outcome
- total starch contente0
- Direction
- negatively affectede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“total starch content was negatively affected in NT and watered plots”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
Protein and amino acid contents showed no significant variation.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- tillage managemente2
- Outcome
- proteins and aminoacidse0
- Direction
- did not show any significant variatione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“proteins and aminoacids did not show any significant variation”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
e2“tillage management”
Claim · model-written summary
No tillage soils had significantly higher carbon concentration, especially in the top 0–5 cm.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- NT soilse0
- Outcome
- carbone0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- topmost (0–5 cm) soil horizone0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“significantly higher carbon and nitrogen concentration occurred in NT soils especially at the topmost (0–5 cm) soil horizon”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
No tillage soils had significantly higher nitrogen concentration, especially in the top 0–5 cm.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae1
- Treatment
- NT soilse0
- Outcome
- nitrogen concentratione0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- topmost (0–5 cm) soil horizone0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“significantly higher carbon and nitrogen concentration occurred in NT soils especially at the topmost (0–5 cm) soil horizon”
e1“cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend cowpea cultivation under sustainable conservation agriculture.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae0
- Outcome
- grown under sustainable CA managemente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cowpea is a suitable crop to be grown under sustainable CA management”
The same questions in other papers
tillage · molecular: metabolites · Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)Results agree
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- positive
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- positive
- positive
tillage · growth · Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)Results agree
6 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
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3 papers more in this group
See all 7 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.