Vigna

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Vigna (lat. Vigna) - a genus of herbaceous plants of the legume family. The genus has 100 species. Plants are similar in appearance to beans, but differ in the structure of stipules and gynoecium. The genus got its name in honor of the Italian scientist and botanist Domenico Vigny, who served as head of the Botanical Garden, located in Pisa. More recently, Asian types of beans, or rather mung bean, adzuki and urd, have been assigned to the genus.

Characteristics of culture

Vigna is a herbaceous plant with erect or creeping stems. The leaves are trifoliate, pinnate. The flowers are yellow, blue, white or purple, collected in racemose inflorescences. The fruit is a bean, practically does not differ from the bean fruit, the only difference is the size of the shoulder blade (the shoulder blade is the valve of a bean with seeds). Sometimes the shoulder blade reaches a length of 1 m. In many countries, the cowpea is cultivated as a vegetable, fodder, grain and green manure crop. The cowpea is especially popular in China, it is used for food and as a medicinal plant. To date, asparagus forms of cowpea have been bred, they have acquired particular importance among Asians.

Views

In central Russia, for gardeners, the most interesting are Japanese and Chinese vigna. From one plant, under favorable growing conditions and careful care, you can get up to four kilograms of green beans. Both species are identical in appearance until fruit is formed. The difference can be recognized only during the period of fruit formation. The flowers of both species are purple with blue, bloom in the early morning, acquire a brownish-yellow color in the evening, then close. When growing several species of cowpea on a plot, it is important to take into account the location, because the culture is self-pollinating, and in order to protect it from cross-pollination, thereby preserving the purity of the variety, it is advisable to plant the species on different sides of the garden.

Cultivation of Japanese cowpea

The Japanese cowpea is currently considered one of the most "difficult" in terms of cultivation in the climate of Moscow and nearby regions, since it is a short-day plant, and it must be cultivated in the open field. Therefore, the climate of the Southern Urals, Khabarovsk region and some Siberian regions is optimal for the species. Japanese cowpea begins to bear fruit in the middle zone in August - early September. For early harvest, the crop is grown in greenhouses. The approximate growing season is 120-150 days, the exact time from the moment of sowing to ripening is difficult to name.

Cultivation of Chinese cowpea

Vigna Chinese, unlike Japanese, is less whimsical. The growing season is from 60 to 90 days. A plot for cultivation is prepared in the fall: the soil is dug up on a full bayonet of a shovel, rotted manure and superphosphate are worn. In the spring, the ridges are loosened and fed with potash and nitrogen fertilizers. Agronomists claim that the cowpea provides itself with nitrogen fertilizers by 50-60% due to the assimilation of free nitrogen by the root system, but in practice everything is not so smooth. Due to the lack of nitrogen, the plants begin to turn yellow ahead of time, growth stops, and the beans ripen ahead of time and become smaller. Seeds are sown in mid-late May in a three-line or tape method. The seeding depth is 4-5 cm. The distance between the lines is 25-30 cm, between the ribbons - 45-50 cm, between the plants - 10-12 cm. For the first time, the crops are covered with foil, regularly moistened and aired.

Care

Almost all types of cowpea need support. Supports are installed along the lines. It is important to take into account the fact that plants in the process of growth form a powerful green mass, therefore the supports must be very strong. Throughout the growing season, the vigna needs regular weeding, loosening the soil between lines and watering. Top dressing is carried out twice: the first - during sowing, the second - during the formation of fruits. Fruit picking is done 10-12 days after the ovaries appear. If you harvest regularly, plants will be more active in forming new fruits.