Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00506-y RESEARCH Open Access Ethnobotanical study of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) in Senegal Awa Sarr1,2*, Amy Bodian1, Mame Codou Gueye1, Badara Gueye3, Ghislain Kanfany4, Cyril Diatta4, Lardia Ali Bougma5, Elisabeth A. M. C. Diop1, Ndiaga Cissé1, Diaga Diouf2 and Christian Leclerc6,7 Abstract Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) plays a key role in family farming systems in Senegal. It makes an essential contribution to economic, nutritional and food security. Although it is crucial, little is known about how farmers classify the diversity of local varieties or about the social practices associated with them. The aim of this study is to characterize the farm- ing practices associated with growing cowpea in Senegal. Surveys were conducted involving 335 rural farmers living in 37 villages, spread across seven regions that produce cowpea. An average of ten farmers were randomly selected in each village. The results reveal that cowpea is a key feature of cropping systems in the studied area. Our findings highlight the high diversity of local cowpea varieties with 59 local names inventoried. In 75% of cases, the name refers to the seed’s morphology or color. Cowpea production is more diverse in Diourbel and Louga and less diverse in the south. More than half the farmers (57%) acquired their cowpea seeds (early, semi-early and late maturity varieties) outside their village, either from markets, seed suppliers or NGOs. This new understanding of farmers’ expertize in the management of cowpea and its local variability will help to valorize local diversity in breeding programs. Keywords: Cowpea, Ethnobotanical, Local names, Farming systems, Senegal Introduction like cowpea, have a positive effect on cereal yield [7–10]. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is one of the Young leaves and immature pods are eaten as a vegeta- most important leguminous plant grown in tropical ble, and the haulms are used as livestock fodder [11, 12]. savannah zones in Africa [1]. Its cultivation makes a Cowpea cultivation generates income through the sale major contribution to food security for people living in of green pods and fresh seeds during the lean season the most marginal areas. Its seeds are rich in lysine and and fodder, especially during the dry season when it is tryptophan, which are a valuable source of plant protein sold at twice the price. Formerly considered as a subsist- [2]. In addition, cowpea is an essential source of vitamins ence crop, it is now grown as cash crop and has a major and minerals, which help to prevent birth defects [3, 4]. socio-economic impact on Sahelian countries as in Sen- Its capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen improves soil fer- egal where the crop is growing on 290,677 hectares with tility and helps to reduce the need of chemical fertilizer annual production over 180  000 tonnes in 2019 [13]. [5, 6]. Cowpea is one of the legumes most often grown Usually, women make the cowpea harvest, sale and pro- in association with cereals in rural areas. Several studies cessing (couscous, thiakry, cake, coffee, etc.). conducted in sub-Saharan Africa have shown that pulses, Despite the fact that its social and economic value has been demonstrated, our knowledge of the diversity of the varietal forms grown in family farming systems *Correspondence: awa18.sarr@ucad.edu.sn 1 Centre d’Etude Régional pour l’Amélioration de l’Adaptation à la remains limited. Historically, local early flowering cow- Sécheresse (CERAAS)/Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), pea varieties were introduced from Nigeria for floodplain BP 3320, Thiès, Sénégal cropping in the Senegal River Valley, in the north of the Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2022. 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The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ publi cdoma in/ zero/1. 0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 2 of 15 country. In contrast, some late flowering varieties were Surveys on cropping diversity introduced from Mali and grown in association with mil- In each village surveyed, participatory research methods let in more humid regions in Senegal [14]. These varie- and tools were applied to find out about cowpea manage- ties spread to the rest of the country as a result of trade ment and the varietal diversity used by farmers during and migration. Today, cowpea is mainly produced in the the 2015 rainy season [20]. The floodplain cultivation sys- center and central north of the country [15]. tem in the Saint-Louis Region was also considered (Octo- Despite the key role of cowpea in Senegalese farm- ber 2015–February 2016). The survey was conducted ing systems, little is known about the local management with the help of informal and semi-structured inter- of cowpea. The ethnobotanical classification of cow- views, in addition to focus group discussions. The infor- pea diversity is essential for improving the conserva- mal interviews were initially conducted with the village tion (in situ or ex situ) and valorization of this legume. chief to find out about the site’s socio-cultural and demo- It is particularly relevant for breeding programs, which graphic characteristics. The semi-structured interviews require the availability of a wide genetic diversity [16]. were conducted based on a questionnaire. This type of In this respect, local cowpea varieties constitute a herit- interview involves a discussion between the surveyor and age of major importance. The surveys and/or collections the interviewee, which allows for reminders and interac- that allowed us to identify cowpea varieties in the past tions [21]. focused on a limited number of regions. Cowpea collec- The semi-structured interviews made it possible to tions were established between 1953 and 2003 in Sen- identify the range of species associated with cowpea egal [14, 17, 18]. However, these accessions have been (Additional file 2), describe the varietal diversity of cow- partially lost rising the need to establish a new cowpea pea using the local names and determine seed origin and collection. the cowpea accession cycles (Additional file  3) (acces- Based on new collections and specific more exhaustive sions were collected at the same time). A free listing surveys, this study aims to characterize the farming prac- method was used [22] to identify the diversity of species tices associated with growing cowpea in Senegal for the grown with cowpea, as well as the diversity of specific first time. In particular, it aims to: (i) identify the role that cowpea morphotypes or local varieties. Here, the term cowpea has in the cropping system, by describing the “variety” corresponds to local names to designate local range of species that it is associated with; (ii) survey and morphotypes. These morphotypes that farmers con- characterize its diversity based on the local nomenclature sidered as landraces are accessions and not taxonomic and the date to reach maturity and (iii) identify the farm- varieties. Their importance is evaluated in relation with ers’ seed supply. their frequency. Free listing is a technique that is widely used in ethnobotanical studies. It involves asking farm- ers to list all the known varieties for a given species [23]. Materials and methods This technique is used to explore and test their knowl- Study areas and sampling strategy edge regarding cowpea classification. It was used to clas- The surveys were conducted between September 2015 sify the species and varieties of cowpea grown by farmers and March 2016 in the main cowpea producing regions during the rainy season. As Henley Henley (1969) and in Senegal (Louga, Thiès, Fatick, Diourbel, Sédhiou and Borgatti (1999) pointed out, “the order in which elements Saint-Louis). The Kédougou region was also surveyed in are listed by individual respondents is not arbitrary.” A order to identify the characteristics of the cowpea varie- first list of species (or varieties) is proposed by farmers ties grown in this area. The villages surveyed were chosen with no hesitation. After a pause, a second complemen- in consultation with agents from the services of Regional tary list is proposed, following by a third one and so on. Rural Development Division to facilitate access to vil- The aim is to interpret these different series, by taking lages that grow cowpea. To optimize the coverage of the into account the order in which the species (or varieties) main cowpea producing zones, three departments were are listed by each interviewee. The hypothesis is that the visited in each region (Fig. 1). The sampling strategy also most important species (or varieties) tend to be men- aimed to provide the best representation of the diversity tioned first. of ethnic groups that grow cowpea, based on the assump- The focus groups, which brought together about ten tion that farming practices may vary from one group to farmers in the public square or at the village chief ’s another [19]. Thus, we selected average-sized villages in home, made it possible to check whether the full range different communes, located at least 15  km apart and of crop diversity in the village had been identified during 10 km from the national road and the market. The survey the individual interviews. was organized in 37 villages, from four to six villages per The spelling for the local names of the cowpea varie- region (Additional file 1). ties was harmonized, and the synonyms were identified S arr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 3 of 15 Fig. 1 Location of villages surveyed. The size of the dots is proportional to the number of people surveyed to ensure that only one term of reference was kept and Data analysis translated into English. The age, ethnic group and profession were used to char- acterize the farmers interviewed. The frequency, the average salience and Smith’s index for each species and Collecting the cowpea accessions variety were calculated with the R AnthroTools pack- After each individual interview, all the cowpea acces- age [24]. The frequency with which an element was cited sions grown by the farmer were collected. An acces- (species and varieties) reflects its importance and its sion corresponds to the name of a variety grown by a perceptual distinctive character. Salience is determined farmer. In fact, after recording the names of varieties by order of citation; an element is more important when grown by a farmer, a visit to the field and/or storage cited at the beginning of the list [25]. Smith’s index is a area was conducted to collect samples. Ideally, pod weighted average of the reverse order for each element. samples were taken from the field. Otherwise, seeds A correspondence analysis was conducted between these were sampled in the granary. species and the different regions of the study. The accessions collected were put in envelopes, The number of cowpea morphotypes that farmers labelled and kept before being transported to the identified and named was used to estimate the varietal “Centre d’Etudes Régional pour l’Amélioration à richness [26]. To further understand the cowpea culti- l’Adaptation à la Sécheresse” (CERAAS) in Senegal for vation, we described the practices associated with each conservation. morphotype that was identified, in particular, how seeds The villages’ geographic coordinates were recorded were obtained (place of origin of seeds) and the cropping on a tablet with the aid of the software Sygic: GPS method (single or multiple cropping). A more detailed Navigation 17.3.27 Android. analysis of the local names used by farmers made it Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 4 of 15 possible to describe the naming process and identify the on average, about ten farmers were randomly selected main categories of cowpea names. per village—except in the Kédougou Region, where it The farmers’ responses regarding the sowing and har- was only possible to interview four farmers per village vest dates allowed to propose a classification system (Table 1). according to the phenology of the cowpea varieties. The The average age of interviewees was 48 years, with no association between the variety types and the regions was significant difference between the regions, except in the checked using a Chi-square test. The maps showing the Sédhiou region, where the average age was lower than village locations and the spatial distribution of the acces- elsewhere (37  years). Among those interviewed, 50.8% sions were compiled using the software R (version 3.6.0 spoke Wolof, which is the language mainly spoken in the for Windows). The software packages Stats and FactoM- regions of Thiès, Louga, Diourbel and Saint-Louis. The inR were used for exploratory statistical analyses and to Serer, which represented 17.9% of the interviewees, are test the hypothesis. found in the Fatick, Thiès and Diourbel regions. Lastly, the Toucouleur (10.5%) and Moors (3.3%) occupy the Results Louga and Saint-Louis regions, while the Mandinka, Jola, Socio‑cultural and demographic characteristics Bainuk, Bedick and Manjak live in the Fatick, Kédougou of the interviewees and Sédhiou regions (Table 2). The panel of interviewees comprised 156 women and 179 men, for a total of 335 people. In the different regions, Cowpea cropping systems Twenty-four (24) different species grown with cowpea were identified in the seven regions which were studied. Table 1 Number of villages and farmers surveyed per region The most frequently cited species grown with cowpea Regions Number of Average number of Total were groundnut and millet, which on average are grown, villages farmers number of respectively, by 85% and 71% of the farmers interviewed farmers (Table 3). However, the proportion of farmers that grow Diourbel 6 9.8 59 groundnut or millet varies depending on the region. Fatick 5 9.6 48 While 98% of farmers grow groundnut in Diourbel, the Kédougou 5 3.6 18 figure is only 43% in Saint-Louis. This variation is also Louga 6 9.7 58 observed for millet, which is common in Diourbel and Saint-Louis 6 10.3 62 Louga, but more unusual in Saint-Louis. Other crops are Sédhiou 5 10.4 52 far less common than these two species, such as guinea Thiès 4 9.5 38 sorrel, maize, watermelon, rice and sorghum. Their dis- Total 37 9 335 tribution also varies depending on the region. The least Table 2 Characteristics of the farmers interviewed in each region Regions Total % Variables Modalities Th Lg Dl Fk Sd Kg SL Age < 25 2 1 0 0 2 1 3 9 2.68 25–50 20 30 19 17 43 8 25 162 48.36 50–75 15 26 36 28 7 9 32 153 45.67 ≥ 75 1 1 4 2 0 0 2 10 2.98 NA 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.3 Total 38 58 59 48 52 18 62 335 100 Wolof 22 35 40 9 31 0 33 170 50,75 Ethnic group Mandinka 0 0 0 3 7 10 0 20 5.97 Moor 0 3 0 0 0 0 8 11 3.28 Fulani 0 10 4 2 0 6 1 23 6.86 Serer 15 1 13 31 0 0 0 60 17.91 Toucouleur 1 9 2 3 0 0 20 35 10.45 Other 0 0 0 0 14 2 0 16 4.77 Total 38 58 59 48 52 18 62 335 100 Th Thiès; Lg Louga; Dl Diourbel; Fk Fatick; Sd Sédhiou; Kg Kédougou; SL Saint-Louis; NA data not provided S arr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 5 of 15 Table 3 Different species grown and their percentage in each region Species common name Species Latin name Diourbel Fatick Kédougou Louga Saint‑Louis Sédhiou Thiès Total Bambara nut Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc 1.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.3 Calabash Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl 0 0 5.6 0 0 0 0 0.3 Cassava Manihot esculenta Crantz 0 0 27.8 0 8.1 13.5 0 5.1 Chili Capsicum annuum (L.) 0 0 0 1.7 4.8 3.8 0 1.8 Cotton Gossypium (L.) 0 0 33.3 0 0 0 0 1.8 Cowpea Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. 100 95.8 94.4 100 98.4 100 100 98.8 Cucumber Cucumis sativus (L.) 0 0 0 0 1.6 0 0 0.3 Eggplant Solanum melongena (L.) 1.7 0 33.3 0 3.2 0 5.3 3.3 Fonio Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf 0 0 33.3 0 0 0 0 1.8 Groundnut Arachis hypogaea (L.) 98.3 95.8 100 94.8 43.5 84.6 94.7 84.8 Maize Zea mays (L.) 13.6 29.2 94.4 5.2 22.6 55.8 2.6 25.7 Melon Cucumis melo (L.) 0 0 0 0 1.6 0 0 0.3 Okra Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench 5.1 0 66.7 0 6.5 0 2.6 6 Onion Allium cepa (L.) 0 0 5.6 0 22.6 0 5.3 5.1 Pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. 100 79.2 44.4 87.9 24.2 69.2 84.2 71.3 Pumpkin Cucurbita (L.) 5.1 0 33.3 0 6.5 0 0 3.9 Red sorrel Hibiscus sabdariffa (L.) 47.5 35.4 38.9 32.8 35.5 0 21.1 30.1 Rice Oryza glaberrima Steud 0 16.7 77.8 0 12.9 23.1 0 12.5 Sesame Sesamum indicum (L.) 0 0 0 0 0 28.8 0 4.5 Sorghum Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench 18.6 12.5 55.6 17.2 1.6 0 2.6 11.6 Sweet potato Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam 0 0 0 0 12.9 7.7 0 3.6 Tomato Solanum lycopersicum (L.) 0 0 5.6 0 6.5 0 0 1.5 Turnip Brassica rapa (L.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.6 0.3 Watermelon Citrullus lanatus Thunb 3.4 8.3 0 20.7 62.9 5.8 10.5 19.1 Other 0 0 0 0 3.2 0 0 0.6 common species grown with cowpea (only 0.3% of farm- ers interviewed) are calabash (Kédougou), cucumber and melon (Saint-Louis), turnip (Thiès) and Bambara ground- nut (Diourbel). The correspondence analysis shows that the regions of Thiès, Sédhiou, Louga, Fatick and Diourbel have simi- lar cropping profiles: red sorrel, sesame and sorghum, in addition to cowpea, groundnut and pearl millet. The Saint-Louis region differs, with watermelon (grown by 62.9% of interviewees) and onion (22.6%), melon, cucumber and tomato, whereas the Kédougou region is characterized by fonio, pearl millet and cotton, rarely grown elsewhere (Fig.  2). The three main species (cow- Fig. 2 Factor map of correspondence analysis. Association of species pea, groundnut and pearl millet) are not randomly dis- as a function of regions surveyed tributed between the regions. However, the disparity only concerns Saint-Louis, where quite a high proportion of farmers grow cowpea compared to what was expected Kédougou regions, respectively. On average, more than randomly (residual > 3), although this proportion is low four species are grown per farmer in the regions of for millet (residual > 2.5, X-squared = 26.949, df = 12, Kédougou, Saint-Louis and Sédhiou, whereas the num- p-value = 0.008). ber is between 3.5 and 4 per farmer in the regions of The number of species cultivated is structured Louga, Diourbel and Fatick. Thiès is the region where according to the regions (Fig.  3) and varies between the average number of species per farmer is the lowest three and nine species per farmer in the Thiès and (equal to 3.5) (Table 4). Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 6 of 15 Fig. 3 Average number of species grown per region Table 4 Number of species grown per region and the average with a citation rank of 2.5, after groundnut (1.9) and mil- ratio per farmer let (2). As expected [22], the citation rank obtained in the Regions Total number of Number of Average number species free list is correlated with species frequency in a species citations farmers of species/farmer nonlinear way (Fig. 4). Diourbel 233 59 3.95 Fatick 182 48 3.79 Collection and local nomenclature of cowpea varieties Kédougou 155 18 8.61 During the survey, 702 cowpea accessions were collected Louga 210 58 3.62 in Thiès (84), Louga (155), Diourbel (158), Fatick (85), Saint-Louis 254 62 4.10 Saint-Louis (122), Kédougou (19) and Sédhiou (79) [27]. Sédhiou 208 52 4.00 One to seven accessions were collected per farmer, with Thiès 132 38 3.47 an average of two accessions per farmer. These acces- sions were identified under 59 different local names. The Using the free listing method, we established the fre- informal interviews with farmers showed that irrespec- quency, Smith’s S index and average salience for each tive of their ethnic group, farmers translated “niébé,” the of the species. Groundnut and millet were the species French word for cowpea, into the local language to name cited the most often with cowpea. The Smith’s index was the species Vigna unguiculata var. unguiculata. In this higher for these three species, with 0.682 for groundnut, way, the terms “Niébé” or “Seupe” are used by the Wolof 0.612 for cowpea and 0.559 for millet (Table 5). Cowpea and Halpulaar (Fula and Toucouleur), “Sosso” is used by is the third most important species in the zones visited, the Mandinka, “Niao” by the Serer, “Deulleugane” by the Moors and “Oufithion” by the Manjak. S arr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 7 of 15 Table 5 Frequency, mean citation rank, Smith’s index, Sutrop index and B.score for species grown with cowpea Cited items Latin name N Frequency Mean rank Smith’s index Sutrop index B. score Cowpea Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. 331 0.988 2.532 0.6122 0.3902 0.7209 Bambara groundnut Arachis hypogaea (L.) 290 0.866 1.872 0.6825 0.4624 0.7384 Pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. 245 0.731 2.012 0.5578 0.3635 0.6122 Red sorrel Hibiscus sabdariffa (L.) 102 0.304 4.039 0.1087 0.0754 0.1743 Maize Zea mays (L.) 89 0.266 3.292 0.1487 0.0807 0.1902 Watermelon Citrullus lanatus Thunb 59 0.176 3.153 0.0893 0.0559 0.1148 Rice Oryza glaberrima Steud 46 0.137 3.565 0.0788 0.0385 0.0998 Sorghum Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench 42 0.125 4.024 0.0557 0.0312 0.0804 Okra Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench 22 0.066 5.909 0.0223 0.0111 0.0388 Onion Allium cepa (L.) 20 0.06 4.6 0.0265 0.013 0.0382 Cassava Manihot esculenta Crantz 18 0.054 5.111 0.0243 0.0105 0.035 Sesame Sesamum indicum (L.) 16 0.048 4.438 0.0189 0.0108 0.0286 Pumpkin Cucurbita (L.) 14 0.042 4.571 0.018 0.0091 0.0255 Cotton Gossypium (L.) 13 0.039 5.846 0.0176 0.0066 0.0253 Sweet potato Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam 12 0.036 3.083 0.0248 0.0116 0.0278 Eggplant Solanum melongena (L.) 11 0.033 6.091 0.0127 0.0054 0.0198 Fonio Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf 8 0.024 6 0.0099 0.004 0.0145 Tomato Solanum lycopersicum (L.) 6 0.018 6 0.0055 0.003 0.0092 Pepper Capsicum annuum (L.) 6 0.018 5.833 0.0044 0.0031 0.0084 Other 3 0.009 4.333 0.0035 0.0021 0.0041 Melon Cucumis melo (L.) 2 0.006 4.5 0.0036 0.0013 0.0032 Calabash Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl 1 0.003 5 0.0019 6.00E − 04 9.00E − 04 Cucumber Cucumis sativus (L.) 1 0.003 6 0.0013 5.00E − 04 6.00E − 04 B groundnut Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc 1 0.003 5 6.00E − 04 6.00E − 04 0 Turnip Brassica rapa (L.) 1 0.003 8 4.00E-04 4.00E − 04 0 Lastly, 9% have names that refer to a specific event (details not provided here) or are arbitrary (Table 6). Most of the time, the names of varieties are composed of a generic name for cowpea in the local language plus a second term, which either refers to simple morphologi- cal characteristics (seed color), people’s names or zone of origin. Among the Mandinka, for example, cowpea is known by the generic name “Sosso.” In order to identify red cowpea, farmers add the suffix “wouléroung” (red) to the name “Sosso.” In all the regions visited, the names generally referred to morphology, particularly seed color (for example, “niebe bou wekh” or white cowpea). Some- Fig. 4 Average citation rank as a function of frequency of citation times seed size is added (for example, “niebe bou wekh bou didji” or white cowpea with large seeds). Some cow- pea names are associated with the seeds’ geographic origin (Fouta cowpea) or a person (Baye Ngagne, Mame A wide range of reasons is used by the farmers to Fama, Marame Penda). In Senegal, the GOANA agricul- identify their cowpea varieties. Indeed, 75% of names ture program, launched in 2008 by the former President make reference to morphology (seed color and size or of the Republic, Abdoulaye Wade, coincided with the vegetative cycle), 14% are named after a person (the introduction of a cowpea variety that is now called after person who brought the variety to the village, a wom- the program. The Goana variety is sometimes called “pea” an’s name if the variety is productive, etc.) and 1% refer (because the shape of the seed is quite round or full) or to the geographic origin (the zone they came from). Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 8 of 15 Table 6 Percentage of name categories for cowpea Region Morphology % Person’s name % Zone of origin Other % Total % % Color Vegetative Cycle Color/Size Thiès 61 5 1 30 3 100 Louga 46 3 6 21 2 22 Diourbel 73 4 16 7 Fatick 62 9 22 7 Sédhiou 96 3 1 Kédougou 95 5 Saint-Louis 47 12 4 10 5 22 % Average 68.57 3.28 3.43 14.28 1 9.43 100 “nenou naat,” which means “guinea fowl’s egg,” in refer- September and October (93.44%). In the Louga region ence to the marks on the seed’s integument (Table 7). and part of the Saint-Louis and Diourbel regions, sow- After standardizing the spelling and identifying the ing is in August and September (42.60%) and harvesting synonyms, 36 names of varieties were kept. Irrespective is in November. Floodplain cultivation of cowpea is only of the ethnic group, the cowpea varieties called white found in the Saint-Louis region (3.99%). For this type of cowpea (26% of all the varieties in the collection), red production, sowing occurs between November and Janu- cowpea (25%) and black cowpea (15%), and Baye Ngagne ary and harvesting is between February and March. (9%) are the most commonly grown in Senegal. There are three groups of cowpea varieties grown in The zone in the north and center of the groundnut pro- Senegal that can be distinguished according to their ducing area has the greatest diversity (Louga and Diour- development cycle: early (number of days < 70), semi- bel), whereas Kédougou has the fewest varieties. Cowpea early (between 70 and 90  days) or late (number of production is more diversified in the regions of Diourbel days ≥ 90). The early maturity varieties represent 81.34% and Louga, followed by Thiès, Saint-Louis and Sédhiou, of the varieties grown. They are found in all regions, respectively (Fig. 5). except Kédougou. Semi-early varieties (3.84%) are grown The average number of cowpea varieties per farmer in Louga and Diourbel. Lastly, late maturity varieties ranged from 1 (Kédougou) to 3 (Diourbel and Louga) (14.67%) are generally grown in the regions of Kédougou, (Table 8). The Diourbel and Louga regions are also where Thiès and Saint-Louis (Table 10). there is greater linguistic diversity among interviewed farmers. Therefore, the possible link between cowpea How seeds are acquired diversity and the farmers’ cultural diversity cannot be Most of the interviewees (57%) stated that they obtained ruled out. their first cowpea seeds at markets or from seed suppli- ers, NGOs, cooperatives or farmer organizations out- Cropping systems and acquiring seeds side the village. Forty-two percent (42%) obtained them Cropping systems from relatives or neighbors in the village. How seeds The majority of the farmers interviewed grow cowpea as are acquired varies depending on the region (Table  11). a single crop (65%). This method of cultivating cowpea Eighty-one percent (81%) of interviewees stated that is far more frequent in four regions in Senegal, namely they acquired their first seeds in the last two decades, Louga, Diourbel, Kédougou and Saint-Louis. Groundnut compared to only 11%, who obtained their seeds more is the species most commonly associated with cowpea. than 25 years ago. More than 6% of interviewees cannot This association was described for 28% of the farm- remember the year when they acquired their seeds. The ers surveyed, especially in the regions of Thiès, Fatick, majority (68%) of seeds from the last season were home- Sédhiou and Diourbel. Cowpea is also associated with grown (Table 11). maize (3%) in the Saint-Louis region, millet (0.3%) in the Kédougou region and market gardening (0.85%) in the Discussion regions of Louga, Saint-Louis and Kédougou (Table 9). Drawing on the new collections and the recent surveys, In the regions of Thiès, Fatick, Diourbel, Kédougou and which were more exhaustive than earlier surveys, the Sédhiou, cowpea is grown in the rainy season. In general, aim of this study was to characterize the farming prac- sowing is in June and July (53.42%) and harvesting is in tices associated with growing cowpea in Senegal. It S arr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 9 of 15 Table 7 Local names, English translation and historical references Local Name English translation Meaning Baye Ngagne Baye Ngagne or black cowpea A person’s name Delleugane Labial White cowpea The color of the seed coat Delleugane Leukhmare Black cowpea The color of the seed coat Fithionouny oufithial White cowpea The color of the seed coat Gouana Goana Refer to the agricultural program GOANA Hectare Hectare The seed’s pleasing appearance Mame Fama Mame Fama A person’s name Marame Penda Marame Penda A person’s name Melakh Melakh = Flash The variety early maturing cycle Mosse kham Taste to know The taste Ndao counda Ndao counda A person’s name Ndiaga aw Ndiaga aw A person’s name Ndiaye wekh White Ndiaye The color of the seed coat Ndieussiw Ndieussiw The capacity to produce fodder Nenou Naat Guinea fowl’s egg The color of the seed coat, which has brown speckles Niao balne Black cowpea The color of the seed coat Niao ndane White cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe bou wekh White cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe baledjo Black cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe bodedjo Red cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe bodedjo-baledjo Black-white cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe bou khonk Red cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe bou khonk bou didji Red cowpea with big seeds The seed size and color Niebe bou khonk bou sew Red cowpea with small seeds The seed size and color Niebe bou nioul Black cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe bou wekh White cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe bou wekh bou didj White cowpea with big seeds The seed size and color Niebe bou wekh bou sew White cowpea with small seeds The seed size and color Niebe danedjo White cowpea The color of the seed coat Niebe fouta Fouta cowpea Originally from Fouta and mainly used for floodplain cultivation Niebe Kell Kell cowpea Niebe Koudioule Niebe Mame Diarra Mame Diarra cowpea A person’s name Niebe poude Grayish cowpea The seed’s faded color Niebe poury Grayish cowpea The seed’s faded color Oufithion otopeul Black cowpea The color of the seed coat Oufithion oudjankfan Red cowpea The color of the seed coat Pakau Pakau Petit pois Pea The seed’s roundish shape Samba sagnal A person’s name Saneba sosso White cowpea The color of the seed coat Seupe bou khonk Red cowpea The color of the seed coat Seupe bou wekh White cowpea The color of the seed coat Sosso fima Sosso fing Black cowpea The color of the seed coat Sosso Khoyo Sosso koyma White cowpea The color of the seed coat Sosso meunie White cowpea The color of the seed coat Sosso meunie maynama Late white cowpea The seed size and color Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 10 of 15 Table 7 (continued) Local Name English translation Meaning Sosso missew Sosso resse mesengo Sosso wouleroung Pale red cowpea The color of the seed coat Tachet Spotted The color of the seed coat, which is brown spotted Tamate awo First wives’ tomato The seed’s red color means that less tomato paste is used to prepare rice-based dishes Walette Early The seed’s early maturity Walette bou nioul Black Early The seed’s early maturity and color Walette bou wekh White Early The seed’s early maturity and color Yacine Yacine Yakhoul tamate That wastes no tomatoes The seed’s red color means that less tomato paste is used to prepare dishes Fig. 5 Average number of cowpea varieties by region focused particularly on the range of species grown in Diversity of species grown with cowpea association with cowpea. The richness and variability In all the zones surveyed, cowpea producers also grow of cowpea varieties were established in reference to the groundnut and millet. In Senegalese farming systems, farmers’ nomenclature. We also identified where farm- these three species are complementary. Along with sor- ers obtained their seeds. ghum, cassava, watermelon and red sorrel, they are the S arr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 11 of 15 Table 8 Number of varieties per farmer for each region conducted inventories of the agricultural species in rural Regions No. farmers No. var/region No. var/farmer areas [28], in which Eastern Senegal and the Casamance appeared to be priority areas for plant breeding resources Diourbel 59 158 2.678 and crop biodiversity. This can be explained by the Fatick 48 85 1.771 abundant rain in these zones, the diversified traditional Kédougou 18 19 1.056 farming practices, the ethnic diversity and, lastly, the Louga 58 155 2.672 proximity of the region to neighboring countries, which Saint-Louis 62 122 1.968 favors exchanges. Although the Sédhiou region has as Sédhiou 52 79 1.519 much rain as South-East Senegal (Kédougou), it has less Thiès 38 84 2.211 species diversity. The Saint-Louis region is still diversified in terms of cultivated species, despite its rainfall deficit. This region’s geographical position offers favorable cli- main cash crops grown in the center and north of the matic conditions for farming. The potential in terms of groundnut growing area, which is ideal for growing cow- irrigable land, estimated at 172 800  ha, and the abun- pea. Our findings on the regional distribution of species dance of water [29] no doubt contribute to this diversity diversity are similar to those obtained when the FAO as well. Table 9 Cowpea crop associations according to region Methods Regions Total Percentage% Th Lg Dl Fk Sd Kg SL Associated with groundnut 42 6 35 49 55 1 9 197 28 Associated with market gardening 0 3 0 0 0 1 2 6 0.85 Associated with maize 0 0 0 0 0 2 20 22 3 Associated with millet 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0.3 Single crop 35 145 117 32 24 13 91 457 65 Single crop associated with groundnut 7 1 6 4 0 0 0 18 2.6 Total 84 155 158 85 79 19 122 702 100 Th Thiès; Lg Louga; Dl Diourbel; Fk Fatick; Sd Sédhiou; Kg Kédougou; SL Saint-Louis Table 10 Cropping calendar and cycle of accessions in each region Features Conditions Regions Total % Chi‑Square Th Lg Dl Fk Sd Kg SL Value df p‑Value Sowing date June–July 83 34 103 81 63 11 0 375 53.42 455.5a 12 < 0.001 Aug–Sept 1 121 55 4 16 8 94 299 42.60 Nov–Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 28 3.99 Total 84 155 158 85 79 19 122 702 100.00 Harvest date Sept–Oct 84 155 158 84 79 10 86 656 93.44 302.6a 18 < 0.001 Nov 0 0 0 0 0 8 8 16 2.28 Feb–March 0 0 0 0 0 1 28 29 4.13 DNR 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.14 Total 84 155 158 85 79 19 122 702 100.00 Cycle < 70 45 133 148 81 79 3 82 571 81.34 251.955a 18 < 0.001 70–90 0 16 7 2 0 1 1 27 3.84 ≥ 90 39 6 3 1 0 15 39 103 14.67 DNR 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.14 Total 84 155 158 85 79 19 122 702 100.00 The p. value of the chi2 test for the sowing dates, harvest dates and length of cycle is below 0.001. The hypothesis of the independence between these variables and the regions has been rejected as a result. Th Thiès; Lg Louga; Dl Diourbel; Fk Fatick; Sd Sédhiou; Kg Kédougou; SL Saint-Louis; MS sowing date; MR harvest date; June- July June and July; Aug-Sept August and September; Nov-Jan November to January; Sept-Oct September and October; Feb-March February and March Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 12 of 15 Table 11 Origin of the seeds grown by the farmers Nature Conditions Regions Total % Th Lg Dl Fk Sd Kg SL Place where first acquired Outside the village 43 95 68 60 48 0 85 399 57 Village 41 57 86 25 31 18 37 295 42 DNR 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 Total 84 155 158 85 79 19 122 702 100 Year when first acquired ˂25 66 122 106 73 79 13 115 574 81 ˃25 4 13 42 9 0 6 6 80 11.4 DNR 14 20 10 3 0 0 0 47 6.7 Total 84 155 158 85 79 19 122 702 100 Home-produced N 27 52 35 21 16 5 62 218 31 O 57 103 123 64 63 14 59 483 68 DNR 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.14 Total 84 155 158 85 79 19 122 702 100 Th Thiès; Lg Louga; Dl Diourbel; Fk Fatick; Sd Sédhiou; Kg Kédougou; SL Saint-Louis Cropping system Diourbel, Louga, Thiès and Saint-Louis, collecting sev- The majority of farmers surveyed grow cowpea as a sin- eral varieties from one farmer is common, whereas in the gle crop. This cropping system is found in the regions of Sédhiou and Kédougou regions, cowpea is less common Louga, Diourbel and Kédougou. In the groundnut grow- and, on average, there is seldom more than one variety ing area, which includes the regions of Diourbel and per farmer. The cultivation of this legume is more diver- Louga, there has been a rainfall deficit for decades. How- sified in Diourbel and Louga. This reveals the impor- ever, cowpea is adapted to these conditions. More and tance and richness of the species in the central north more land is being used to grow cowpea. Between 2012– and north, the main cowpea growing areas in Senegal 2017, cowpea was grown on 165 452 ha, on average. This [31]. The department of Louga, which is in the center of increased to 257  219  ha in 2019 [30]. In these zones, this region, appears to be the preferred zone for growing where the harvest is destined for sale, cowpea is grown in cowpea: 21% of cultivated land is used to grow this spe- huge fields. In contrast, in other regions, cowpea is con- cies [32]. sidered as a subsistence crop and is associated with other The analysis of diversity based on the local names crops, such as groundnut, maize, millet or even market for cowpea allowed us to identify six appellations for gardening. Polyculture is practiced by farmers who do the cowpea species. On a varietal level, 59 different not have large areas of cultivable land. This association names were identified. Varieties whose seeds have the with other crops is used as a strategy to reduce the risks same morphological features may have different names of production loss due to climatic hazards. depending on the ethnic group. These names essen- In the regions of Thiès and Louga, young people grow tially refer to seed color, size or people’s names. Thus, cowpea, which could help reduce immigration. In fact, in the farmer manages diversity by recognizing perceptible this part of the country, the legume is grown as a cash characteristics, especially morphological features [33]. crop on large areas of land. In the Sédhiou region, young By studying the classification processes, we were able people also grow cowpea, although it is often neglected in to determine the biological diversity of cowpea, as per- favor of other crops. This could be explained by the fact ceived by farmers. The diversity of the local names is an that varieties from other crops are better adapted to the indicator of the plant’s importance in a geographic envi- groundnut producing zone, such as the Sédhiou region. ronment [34]. In Senegal, the fact that the local names In Sédhiou, cowpea is traditionally valorized by women. that designate cowpea vary depending on locality or In the regions of Diourbel, Fatick and Saint-Louis, cow- ethnic group was reported a long time ago [35]. This pea is grown by aged farmers, who probably know more observation suggests that there is a close link between about traditional accessions and their cropping practices. farmers’ cultural diversity and varietal diversity. A high level of diversity was also mentioned for fonio, with 52 Cowpea’s area of distribution and varietal richness local names [36], and maize, with 81 local names [37]. This study helped to confirm the area of distribution of In this study, seed color is the most distinctive element cowpea production in Senegal. In fact, in the regions of and the most often used by farmers for naming varieties. S arr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 13 of 15 This naming process can cause confusion between tradi- market, even if they are unaware of its germination per- tional and improved varieties because the latter’s names formance and agricultural value. are sometimes constructed in the same way. For exam- Many of the people surveyed obtained their first seeds ple, the improved variety, Yacine, is called “Niebe  bou in the village, either through donations or by trading with khonk” in Wolof, which means “red cowpea.” In Burkina relatives, friends or neighbors. Similarly, married women Faso, names are constructed using eye color (in over 35% obtain their first seeds from their husband or parents-in- of cases) and seed size (almost 45%) [38]. According to law, along with plots of land, after leaving their place of Ouedraogo et al., color and texture are only used for less birth to go to their husband’s place of residence. Thus, than 10%. However, our findings, which are in line with women rarely take seeds from their home or continue to the studies by Dabat et al. [39] in Burkina Faso, show that obtain seeds from their relatives, especially if they live in white varieties appear to be more valued because the different villages. majority of seeds used by farmers are white. The majority of seeds from the season preceding this Cowpea is mainly grown during the rainy season in all study were home-grown. In fact, farmers keep a share of the zones surveyed, except the Saint-Louis region, where their previous harvest for seed. Consequently, farmers cowpea is also grown on the floodplain. Three groups only purchase or obtain seeds at the market or from rela- (early, intermediary and late) were identified according to tives or neighbors the year after a poor harvest or a food the varieties’ development cycle. According to Kouakou shortage. et  al. (2007), on a local level, cowpea diversity is gener- ally due to its phenological adaptability to environmental constraints. The abundance of early maturing accessions Conclusion may be due to the adoption of improved varieties that Identifying the nomenclature for the local cowpea vari- are early. Late varieties are no longer grown in the main eties and their seed management system is essential for cowpea producing areas because rainfall has been irregu- optimizing local diversity. This study revealed the con- lar or insufficient for four decades. This may also explain siderable diversity of local names. This diversity is an the high number of early varieties. The earliest varieties indicator of the importance of cowpea in Senegalese were collected in Sédhiou, which has the longest rainy farming systems. The names primarily refer to the seed season. However, in this region, very small areas were morphology or color, a feature that facilitates identifica- cultivated for home-consumption. The variability of rain- tion. The named diversity of cowpea is greater in regions fall in the different regions could explain the phenologi- where the crop systems are less diversified. In the studied cal diversity observed. In fact, more late accessions are area, more than half the cowpea seeds grown by farmers grown in the Kédougou region, where rainfall is higher, are obtained from markets, NGOs, agricultural services and in the Saint-Louis region, where floodplain cropping and projects and then farmers produce and conserve plays an important role. These types of varieties are valu- their own seeds. Cowpea is generally grown as a single able because they are dual purpose and can be used as crop or associated with groundnut or maize. The length seed and fodder. In fact, under favorable conditions, they of the growing cycle is rarely used by farmers to identify produce a large amount of seeds and fodder [3]. The late their varieties. However, we classified varieties in terms varieties found in the regions of Thiès, Kédougou and of development cycles because of the difference observed Saint-Louis could constitute an important pool for local between sowing and harvesting dates. This study made it and traditional varieties. In the cereal growing region of possible to characterize the diversity of cowpea grown in Thiès (where 47.2% of land is cultivated with maturing Senegal. Undoubtedly, the diversity of farming practices cowpea) [40], late maturing cowpea has a positive effect and cowpea cropping systems is closely linked to the on cereal yields in the crop rotation because it produces diversity of the biological types grown in the country and huge quantities of biomass [41]. vice versa. Supplementary Information The seed supply The online version contains supplementary material available at https:// doi. In the last two decades, most of the seeds in the farm- org/ 10. 1186/ s13002- 022- 00506-y. ers’ possession were purchased at the market or obtained from agricultural services, NGOs, farmers’ organizations Additional file 1: Collection areas and socio-cultural characteristics of and cooperatives. These types of structure are common surveyed farmers. to several villages. Consequently, the same variety can be Additional file 2: The various species cultivated with cowpea in the areas found in different villages or regions, even if it has dif- visited. ferent names. Thus, the pleasing appearance of seeds of Additional file 3: List of the 702 cowpeas accessions, their local names one cowpea variety can encourage people to buy it at a and signification, regions of collection, acquisition and cycle. Sarr et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2022) 18:6 Page 14 of 15 Acknowledgements [Internet]. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan; 2008 We thank Dr Daniel Fonceka and Dr Ndjido Ardo Kane for their important [cited 2019 Jul 23]. https:// doi. org/ 10. 13140/2. 1. 2721. 8566 suggestions and support, our interviewees warmly for their time and goodwill, 7. Badou A, Akondé PT, Adjanohoun A, Adjé IT, Aïhou K, Igué AM. Effets de Kodjo Mawuena Gbedevi, Ndeye Yacine Gueye and Mamadou Fall for their différents modes de gestion des résidus de soja sur le rendement du help on the surveys, the staff of “Direction Régional du Développement Rural maïs dans deux zones agroécologiques du Centre-Bénin. Bulletin de la (DRDR)” who guided and assisted us during the surveys and collection of Recherche Agronomique du Bénin (BRAB). Numéro spécial Fertilité du the plant materials, and the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable maïs. Bénin; 2013;34–8. comments. 8. 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