• Nitrogen source (100-150 lb. N/ac)
  
• Biomass/organic matter source (Dry Matter: 2,500-4,500 lbs/ac/yr)
  
• Weed suppression
  
• Insectary plant
  
• Companion crop in orchards, vineyards, corn
  
• Drought tolerant
  
• Food, seed, forage, or hay crop
  
  

Plant Highlights

• EXCELLENT for providing erosion control, for suppressing weeds
  
• VERY GOOD for quick growth and establishment
  
• GOOD for increasing organic matter and improving soil structure, for animal grazing (production, nutritional quality & palatability)
  
• FAIR for taking up & storing excess N, for providing lasting residue.
  
  

• Excellent heat tolerance
  
• Very good drought tolerance
  
• Good shade tolerance
  
• Fair flood tolerance
  
• Excellent tolerance to low fertility
  
• pH range 5.5-6.5
  
  

• Drilled: Seed at 30-90 lb./A
  
• Broadcast: Seed at 70-120 lb./A
  

• Cultivars commonly recommended by the Hawai`i Natural Resources Conservation Service include: ‘Mississippi Pinkeye Purple Hull’ which is reported to be root knot nematode resistant, burrowing nematode susceptible.
  
  

• Good for loosening subsoil
  
• Good at releasing P and K
  
• Very good at loosening topsoil
  
  

• Poor for suppressing nematodes
  
• Poor for disease suppression
  
• Poor allelopathic properties
  
• Excellent weed suppression
  
• Very good for attracting beneficial insects
  
  

• Poor trafficability
  
• Rapid establishment and growth ideal for short windows
  
  

• Cowpeas germinate quickly and are easy to establish. They thrive in hot moist climates.
  
• To control disease and nematode problems, cowpeas should be rotated with four to five years of crops that are not hosts.
  
• Once cowpeas form pods, they may attract stinkbugs. Flail mowing or incorporating cowpeas at pod set or plan crop rotations with resistant crops.
  
• Cowpeas survive drought well once established.
  
• Mowing stops vegetative growth but may not kill plants without shallow tilling.
  
• Cowpeas have extrafloral nectaries that attract beneficial insects such as wasps, honeybees, lady beetles, ants and soft-winged beetles.
  
  

• Minimum broadcast seeding rates of 60 lbs. pure live seed/acre;
  
• pH range from 5.5-8.3;
  
• Inoculant group: cowpea;
  
• Approximate growing time 90 days;
  
• Approximate dry matter yield 2 tons/acre;
  
• Approximate N content 59 lbs./T dry matter;
  
• Optimum planting period year round at elevations from 0-1000 ft.;
  
• Optimum planting period spring/summer at elevations from 0-2000 ft.