Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), a globally important legume and high-quality plant protein source (Jayathilake et al. 2018), is widely cultivated in arid and semi-arid tropical zones. In March 2025, a cowpea plantation in Chengmai County, Hainan Province, China (110.168808°E, 19.735978°N) showed unusual wilting, with over 30% disease incidence. Initial symptoms included irregular, dark brown dry necrotic lesions on stem bases and nodes, expanding bidirectionally, followed by leaf yellowin