What are the planting techniques for making cowpeas bear more pods?

Reasonable planting density: The best seedling age for transplanting cowpeas is when the young leaves of the seedlings have just unfolded. The reasonable row spacing for cowpeas is generally 60 cm for the narrow row and 80 cm for the wide row, with a trellis height of 1.8-2 m. The taller the trellis, the greater the row spacing should be. The plant spacing should be about 45 cm, generally transplanting two plants per spot. If the planting density is too high, it will cause the cowpea plants to grow excessively and make it difficult for them to set pods.

Pay attention to the day-night temperature difference: Cowpeas have strong heat tolerance but are not tolerant of freezing, and the suitable growth temperature is 20°C-25°C. During the flowering and pod-setting period of cowpeas, the daytime temperature, nighttime temperature and day-night temperature difference should be well controlled. During the flowering period of cowpeas, the more suitable growth temperature should not exceed 30°C during the day and should not exceed 18°C at night. Therefore, cowpea growers are reminded to manage the timing of closing the greenhouse well, delaying the closing time as the temperature rises. The standard for closing the greenhouse during the flowering and pod-setting period of cowpeas is when the greenhouse temperature reaches 17°C.

Suitable light conditions: Although the cowpea varieties suitable for greenhouse cultivation do not have strict requirements for photoperiod, they have relatively high requirements for light intensity, especially during the flowering and pod-setting period. If the light is insufficient, it will cause cowpeas to drop flowers and pods.

Proper soil moisture and nutrients: The watering time and amount should be flexibly controlled according to the local soil moisture conditions. During the entire growth period of cowpeas, at least three waterings should be done: the first watering after transplanting, which must be thorough, otherwise the plants will be uneven; the second watering when the vines grow to 0.6 m high; the most critical point in cowpea production is to water the vines, not the pods. Watering is not suitable during the full flowering period of cowpeas, so the third watering should be done before the initial flowering period, and combined with watering, a flower-promoting and fruit-preserving agent should be sprayed, which is more conducive to cowpea flowering and pod setting. After pod setting, another light watering should be given to promote the expansion and elongation of the cowpeas. In addition, nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied excessively, otherwise it will cause excessive vine and leaf growth in cowpeas and delay flowering and pod setting. Phosphate fertilizer should be applied more to promote the formation of root nodules and enhance their nitrogen-fixing capacity.