Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, has a prominent place in Senegal both for its nutritional benefits and for its suitability for adverse growing conditions. Studies were conducted on three cowpea genotypes with the objective of evaluating the effect of seed pretreatment with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and optimal water volume on cowpea germination rate. A completely randomized design with three replications was used with two factors: volume of water drenched, duration of soaking. The analysis of variance showed a great variability of the genotypes with respect to the different soaking times. The trait studied in the trial was germination speed. Significant differences were observed at the level of AxBxC, AxB and AxC interactions and then at the level of genotype, the main source of variability. The performance of each genotype was also observed in relation to the adapted soaking time. The application of the decontaminant sodium hypochlorite and the volume of irrigation water showed a clear improvement of the germination speed.
