Incidence and extent of damage resulting from attack by the striped bean weevil Alcidodes leucogrammus Erichs, were assessed by random sampling of cowpea plants in monocropped and within maize-cowpea-sorghum intercropping combinations at two locations. The biology and damage symptoms caused by the bean weevil are discussed. The effect of A. leucogrammus incidence on cowpea nodulation is evaluated and evidence presented that the weevil attack causes a reduction in the number of nodules. Emma 60, a local cowpea cultivar, exhibits some degree of resistance against A. leucogrammus (P < 0.05). Sorghum–cowpea intercropping combinations have significantly fewer weevils (P < 0.05) possibly as a result of the close spacing and tillering capacity of the sorghum companion crop which prevents or obstructs the weevil migration between rows.
