Seven cowpea cultivars and a susceptible and two resistant checks were evaluated for their preference by Clavigralla tomentosicollis for oviposition and feeding under free-choice condition in the screenhouse and under no-choice in mesh cages. Female bugs had no distinct ovipositional preference for any of the test cultivars than the susceptible check. There was a distinct preference for egg laying on the undersurface of the leaves than on the other plant parts.

The susceptible check was more preferred for feeding by the bug than the other test cultivars. Thus, percentage seed damage was significantly reduced on the test cultivars than the susceptible check. There was no significant difference in percentage seed damage between the free-choice and the no-choice tests among the test cultivars except TVu 1890 (the resistant check) and Ife Brown (the susceptible check). The implications of the results are discussed.

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) are the major grain legumes grown in the semi-arid areas of Kenya. Heavy losses in grain yield occur due to their vulnerability to a large number of insect pests in the field as well as damage by weevil during storage. Aphids, thrips, pod-borers and pod-sucking bugs are common insect pests to both pigeon pea and cowpea. Pod fly mostly attacks pigeon pea, and apion beetle is a serious pest of cowpea. Use of chemical control in the semi-arid areas is expensive and beyond the reach of the small-scale farmers. Work on development of less susceptible or tolerant crop varieties has been initiated at the National Dryland Farming Research Station (NDFRS) at Katumani. Results of preliminary screening against major insect pests are reported in this paper.

The sources of resistance against aphids and thrips in cowpea, were received from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (UTA), Nigeria, and information on their reaction to these insects under field conditions has been discussed. In pigeon pea, resistance against pod-sucking bug, which appear to be of the antibiosis type, has been identified in the early maturing group of the local germplasm. Implications of breeding for insect resistance and pest management in the two crops are discussed.