When to plant Cowpea in Jijel

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Cowpea

Algeria

Cowpea (nyemba, kunde, niébé, black-eyed pea) is a tough, drought-beating legume for warm country.

Cowpea in Jijel, rain-fed and with irrigation
Fit Moderate
When to plant 10 Jun 2027 – 30 Jun 2027 opens in 36 weeks
Expected harvest about 0.9 t/ha
Harvest From 9 Aug 2027 to 28 Oct 2027, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 60–120 days after planting
Work it takes 50–105 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 30 Jun 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Jijel leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.

Planting after 30 Jun 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Jijel

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 30%

For cowpea in Jijel, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 30%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2026/27 season in Jijel

When the rains are expectedSeptember 2026 to May 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 1,035 mm in a typical farming district
Across its districtsFrom about 830 mm in the driest of 28 districts to about 1,242 mm in the wettest
This season's rainLeaning dry — January, February, November and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.0 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for one full main crop, warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth
Ground this covers4 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
65% enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 251 growing days · about 980 mm · September to May
14% enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 251 growing days · about 980 mm · September to May
13% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 279 growing days · about 1,190 mm · September to June
5% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 280 growing days · about 1,200 mm · September to June

last updated 19 September 2026 · from all 28 areas within it

Sloping ground holds back about 65% of yield here.

What cowpea needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sand, sandy loam or loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 5.5 and 6.5
Spacing 75 cm between rows, 25 cm between plants
Feed it most with phosphorus and potassium

What it takes to grow cowpea in Jijel

Planting materialAbout 90,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 54 kg per hectare — the crop fixes most of this itself; inoculated seed matters more than a bag
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 11 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 20 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. Skip the nitrogen top dressing; inoculated seed does that job.
Hand work50–105 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a cowpea crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableSteep slopeEarly-maturing — escapes late drought

Grow Cowpea with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Jijel as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will cowpea grow well in Jijel?

Jijel rates as moderate for cowpea.

When should I plant cowpea in Jijel?

Typically 10 Jun 2027 to 30 Jun 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Jijel, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Jijel

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.