Growth promoting bacteria in cowpea bean (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)

Abstract

Cow pea vean (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) has traditionally been an important crop for smallholder farmers, and in many cases is the main source of low-cost dietary plant protein and minerals compared to animal products such as meat, fi sh, and egg. Th e inoculation of rhizobia in cowpeas is a promising technology to improve production. In this work, the importance of growth-promoting bacteria in cowpea beans was evaluated through a literature review, to improve the performance of the production system in the diff erent stages of the crop. A search of bibliographic information has been carried out for the preparation of this literature review using scientifi c information published from 1982 to the present, totaling 67 documents (books, book chapters, scientifi c articles, among others) written in diff erent languages such as Spanish, English and Portuguese, included in the Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, Redalyc and Latindex 2.0 platforms. Th e keywords ¨Cowpea beans¨, ¨Origin of cowpea beans¨, ¨Distribution of cowpea beans¨, ¨Phenological cycle of cowpea beans¨, ¨Botanical description of cowpea beans¨, ¨Nutritional requirements of cowpea beans¨, ¨Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria¨, ¨Nitrogen fi xing bacteria¨ and ¨Growth promoting bacteria in cowpea¨. Th e Mendeley program was used as a bibliographic manager. Th e importance of the promoter bacteria in the cowpea bean crop was demonstrated, in all the searches carried out, the bacteria belonging to the genus Bradyrhizobium predominating as the most used in this crop.