Transpiration and water use efficiency of different cowpea genotypes

Plant production is becoming strained by water scarcity in future due to climatic changes but also by increasing water costs because of growing sectoral competition for this resource. Hence, efficient use of water will gain high importance in crop production. This research project aims to assess transpiration efficiency (TE) at different genotypes through different methods (i.e. direct water consumption, indirect by gas exange) and further parameters (possibly) associated with TE or water-use efficiency. Primary objectives are to identify (a) efficient genotypes and (b) appropriate methods to be employed in breeding.