Black-Eye Bean

Black-Eye Bean (Vigna sinensis/Vigna unguiculata )


	Paul Heitman	Paul Heitman	Paul Heitman	Paul Heitman

Common Names

English

Afrikaans
Zulu
Tswanadinawa
Venda
Ped
Shangaan

cowpea bachapin bean black-eye bean or pea catjang china pea cowgram southern pea string bean
akkerboon swartbekboon boontjie koertjie dopboontjie
imbumba indumba isihlumaya
nawa-ea-setswana
munawa 0(plant) nawa (fruit)
dinawa (plural) monawa nawa
dinaba munaoa tinyawa

Visual Characteristics

The seeds are white with a black eye round the hilum. The “eye” can be other colors, pink, purple or shades of red being common. Upon drying, the eye color darkens to a dark purple. The pods are purple-like on the pink-eyed/purple hull type. Some varieties are erect and bushy, while others are viney in growth habit. Black-eye bean may reach I m in height. It is an annual herb with a strong taproot and many spreading lateral roots in surface soil.

Growing Characteristics

All cultivated black-eye bean varieties are considered warm season and adapted to heat and drought conditions. Growth forms vary and may be erect, trailing, climbing or bushy, usually indeterminate under favorable conditions.

Leaves

Stems

Fruit

Seeds

Alternate and trifoliate. First pair of leaves is simple and opposite. Leaves exhibit considerable variation in size (6-16 x 4-11 cm) and shape (linear-lanceolate to ovate). Usually dark green.
Leaf petiole 5-25 cm long.
Striate, smooth or slightly hairy. Sometimes tinged with purple. Inflorescence Flowers are arranged in racemose or intermediate inflorescences at the distal ends of 5-60 cm long peduncles. Flowers are borne in alternate pairs, with usually only two to a few flowers per inflorescence. Flowers are conspicuous, self-pollinating, borne on short pedicels and the corollas may be white, dirty yellow, pink, pale blue or purple in color. Flowers open in the early day and \ close at approximately midday; after blooming (opening once) they wilt and collapse.
Fruit are pods that vary in size, shape, color and texture. They may be erect, crescent-shaped or coiled. Usually yellow when ripe, but may also be brown or purple in color.
Usually 8-20 seeds per pod. Seeds vary considerably in size, shape and color. They are relatively large (2-12 mm long) and weigh 5-30 g/100 seeds. Seed shape is correlated with that of the pod. Where individual seeds are separate from adjacent ones during development, they become reniform, but as crowding within the pod increases, the seeds become globular. The testa may be smooth or wrinkled; white, green, buff, red, brown, black, speckled, blotched, eyed (hilum white surrounded by a dark ring) or mottled in colour.

A number of diseases and pests are reported and active breeding has taken place for resistant varieties. In southeastern production areas, the major insect pest is cowpea curculio, and the major disease is root knot, a severe root disease induced by root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.). Cowpeas do attract an unusual number of pollinating insects when flowering. Possible diseases are fusarium wilt, bacterial canker, southern stem blight, cowpea mosaic virus (and several other less prominent viruses), cercospora leaf spot, rust and powdery mildew. The Following fungicides* are registered for cowpeas-Maxim, Maxim-XL, Mefenoxam, Metalaxyl, Mycostop, Ridom il-Gold and Thiram.Possilbe insects are Mexican bean beetle, bean leaf beetles, cowpea curculio, aphids, green stink bug, lesser cornstalk borer and weevils (when in storage). The following insecticides* are registered for cowpeas-Adios, Azadirachtin, Bacillus thuringiensis, Capture, Di-Syston, Gaucho, Insecticidal soap, Lorsban, Methaldehyde, Methomyl, Pyrellin, Pyrethrin, Sevin, Success, Telone, and Trilogy.

History of Plant

The Black-eye Bean has probably been used as a crop plant since Neolithic times. A lack of archaeological evidence has resulted in contradicting views supporting Africa, Asia and South America as origin. One view is that cowpea was introduced from Africa to the Indian subcontinent approximately 2000 to 3500 years ago, at the same time as the introduction of sorghum and millet. Before 300 BC, cowpeas had reached Europe and possibly North Africa from Asia. In the seventeenth century AD the Spanish took the crop to the West Indies. It is grown commercially in India and China and as a high-protein subsistence crop in Africa. Introduced in the early 18th century from the Old World to the West Indies and eventually to the southern United States, by way of the slave trade, black-eyed beans are featured in many southern American or soul-food favorites.

Pharmacology

Black-eye bean is applied in diarrhoea due to deficient spleen and dyspepsia (indigestion), It is also applied in leukorrhea (whitish discharge from the vagina resulting from inflammation or congestion of the mucous membrane), frequent urine and night emission.

Food Use

Dried black-eyed peas and pink-eyed/purple hull peas are used for food products. The dried beans are frequently sold directly to the consumer after cleaning and bagging. Another common product is the canned or frozen product, which is cooked with water prior to canning or freezing. Before cooking dried peas, soak them for four hours, then pressure cook for ten minutes, or simmer on the stove for one hour or till tender. 1 cup dried black-eyed beans yields approximately 2 1/2 cups of cooked beans. Cooked black-eyed beans can be pureed into a delicious spread for sandwiches or crackers. Serve them with rice and cooked collard greens for a taste of the South.

Nutritional Values

Sweet and salty in flavor, mild in nature, it is related to the spleen and kidney channels. It ia a crop with a high protein content and lower soil fertility requirements than many other crops The seeds also contain small amounts of B-carotene equivalents, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin A, niacin, folic acid and ascorbic acid ). The use of cowpea seeds as a seed vegetable provides an inexpensive source of protein in the diet.

Carbohydrate
Protein
Water
Fat
Phosphorous
Calcium
Iron

56-66 %
22-24 %
11 %
1.3-1.5 %
0.146 %
0.104-0.076
0.005 %

Recipes

Black Eyed Bean Hot Pot
Serves 4

• 4 ounces black eyed beans -- soaked overnight
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion -- peeled and chopped
• 6 ounces carrots -- chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 4 ounces parsnips -- chopped
• 4 ounces rutabaga -- chopped
• 12 ounces potatoes -- scrubbed and chopped
• 6 ounces brussel sprouts -- cut in half
• 4 tomatoes -- peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons red wine, or 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1 tbsp water
• 2 teaspoons fresh or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons tamari
• salt and black pepper
1. Drain the black eyed beans. Boil them fast in fresh water for ten minutes, then simmer until just tender, about 30-35 mins. Drain, reserving 3/4 pint of the cooking water.
2. Fry the onion in the oil until soft. Add the carrots, bay leaves and caraway seeds and stir over the heat for a few minutes. Add the rutabaga, parsnip, potatoes and cook for a further 3- 4 mins.
3. Add the brussel sprouts, cooked beans, tomatoes, red wine or vinegar, bean stock and cook for 30 mins, or until the potatoes are soft, in a covered saucepan. Add the thyme, tamari and seasoning and cook for a further 15 mins. Serve hot.

Authored By

Sabine Poeschk

Bibliography

ENaturalHealthCenter.com (e2121 .com)
University of Pretoria www.up.ac.za
Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute