Detached leaf test as a rapid stress appraisal in cowpea germplasm, Vigna unguiculuta (L) walp for draught resistance

rapid stress appraisal method (a detached leaf test, DLT), was initiated un der laboratory conditions in Italy to investigate the potential of the meth od for rapidly screening cowpea germplasm for drought tolerance. By the DLT , highly significant differences (p less than or equal to 0.00001) were det ected among the 100 accessions of the screened germplasm. Peak frequency of dehydration occurred around 7% with an asymmetric empirical (frequency pol ygon) distribution with fewer accessions of greater than 29% dehydration oc curring at the longer and highly skewed tail end. This pattern was indicati ve of the limited diversity in the advanced breeding lines that constituted the germplasm base. Pn 3-4552tvu and Pn 61-300ucr were by this method rapi dly and inexpensively identified as showing attributes of drought resistanc e and susceptible, respectively It is concluded that the reported rapid str ess appraisal strategies in cowpea germplasm might provide the empirical ba sis for identifying those traits likely to contribute to drought resistance in thebreeding process.