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The objective of this research was to evaluate the yield of the cowpea crop, when grown on cover crops straws, managed or not with herbicides applied in post-emergence. The experiment was conducted in the field, in a complete randomized block design with three replications. In a 5x2 factorial scheme, the first factor were featured by five types of straw were tested: sorghum, congo grass, Tanzania grass, palisadegrass and weeds. The second factor was characterized by the absence and application of the ready mix of bentazone + imazamox at the dose 600 + 28 g ha-1 at 13 days after emergence (DAE) and the herbicide haloxifop-p-methyl at the dose of 62.35 g ha- 1 to 18 DAE. Weed density and dry matter were evaluated at 20 and 85 DAE of the crop, plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll content, dry matter aerial part and in the flowering of the crop (46 DAE). At harvest, the number of grains per pod, the number of grains per plant, the weight one hundred grains, the population of cowpea plants and grain yield were evaluated. The straws of congo grass, Tanzania grass and palisadegrasson the soil surface reduce the dry mass of weeds, constituting necessary management where chemical control has not been carried out. Regardless of the use of straw, the application of the herbicide is essential to guarantee the productivity of the crop. The cultivation of cowpea on sorghum straw, congo grass, Tanzania grass and palisadegrass results in higher grain yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]