Registration of short‐season and high‐protein cowpea TAMC 241, TAMC 243, and TAMC 244

Cowpea [ Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is a summer diploid legume species (2 n = 2 x = 22) that provides an affordable source of vegetable protein for human consumption. It is drought and heat tolerant, making it a suitable crop for resource‐constrained environments. However, the limited availability of short‐season cowpea cultivars and seed restrict its use in cropping systems as a rotational crop. Short‐season cowpea fits well into existing cropping systems. The short‐season trait provides farmers with opportunities to cultivate multiple cowpea growing seasons within a year. TAMC 241 (Reg. no GP‐328, PI 709376), TAMC 243 (Reg no. GP‐329, PI 709377), and TAMC 244 (Reg. no GP‐330, PI 709378) are new short‐season and high‐protein cowpea varieties. They were developed to increase crop profitability and to expand their use as both cash and rotational crops in southern U.S. environments, such as Texas. These cowpea varieties have a shorter maturity period than the current early maturing variety Golden Eye Cream (GEC). They can be harvested 16 days earlier than GEC. The average seed yields from 11 location–year environments were 1387, 1236, and 1168 kg ha −1 for TAMC 241, TAMC 243, and TAMC 244, respectively. Their protein content ranges from 23% to 27%, or on an absolute basis, 4%–9% higher than that of GEC while maintaining a competitive yield. These cultivars are unrelated to GEC and, therefore, also increase the genetic diversity of cowpea cultivars for growers.