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Okra

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WARNING: The information on this page has been gathered from both published and unpublished material, and contains comments and opinions from people working in the field. CQUniversity cannot guarantee all the information, and we stress that it is necessary to CHECK WITH THE SOURCE of the information, before using it to make a business decision. Please read our disclaimer.

Okra Links

Varieties

See Seedquest for a list of seed companies. The only reported seed producing country in 1997 was Guatemala, producing 46 tons (FAO 1998).

Production

Okra-1
Figure 1: World production of okra 1990-97 (FAO 1998).

Season: Okra is a summer crop in northern USA (equivalent to southern Australia), with a short growing season. It can withstand strong summer heat and prefers direct sunlight (Jambhale and Nerkar 1990).

Soil type: Sandy loam soils are preferred (Duzyaman 1997), but okra can be grown on a wide range of soils with good drainage. Soil should be prepared thoroughly and early (2-3 months before sowing) to allow organic matter to break down. Slightly raised beds are preferred (Anonymous 1994).

Salinity: Salinity effects are detectable above 4 dS/m but are more pronounced at 8 dS/m, and can be partially offset by higher N application (Singh 1998).

pH: 6.0-6.5 (Anonymous 1994).

Temperature: Optimum temperature for germination is 35° C, but will still occur at 15° C (Duzyaman 1997). Okra does not tolerate frosts.

Photoperiod: Most cultivars need a short daylength to initiate flowering, but there are long day and day neutral cultivars. Day neutral cultivars will continue flowering from flower initiation until the first frost (Duzyaman 1997).

Sowing: For maximum germination, soak seeds overnight and then plant only the swollen ones. Plant 1-3 cm deep Splittstoesser1990

(Jambhale and Nerkar 1990). Emergence takes 7 days in optimal conditions, but will be delayed by lower temperatures (Duzyaman 1997).

Plant density: Space 1-1.5 m between rows and thin to 30-60 cm within rows Splittstoesser1990

(Jambhale and Nerkar 1990). A smaller spacing of 45x15 cm was recommended from Indian experiments (Saimbhi et al. 1997) but this would make harvesting difficult. High densities are preferable for seed production and for producing smaller fruit (Duzyaman 1997).

Nutrition: The plant requires high P fertiliser before planting, and again when pods begin to develop. High N fertiliser stimulates vegetative growth at the expense of fruit (Jambhale and Nerkar 1990). A 5:6:5 NPK mixture is quite suitable (Anonymous 1994).

Water: The plant is tolerant to water stress but yields will be reduced, particularly if stress occurs during flowering or pod filling stages. Low levels of rainfall and humidity are preferable for seed production (Duzyaman 1997).

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Harvest: Harvest should commence within 10 weeks of planting (Anonymous 1994), 4-7 days after the flower has opened when the pod is 5-10 cm long and before it is fibrous. Pick mature pods every second day, and remove overmature pods since they inhibit plant growth Splittstoesser1990

(Jambhale and Nerkar 1990). Pods are tender and must be carefully handled to prevent bruising. Rubber gloves may be needed to reduce skin irritations (Anonymous 1994).

Yield: Okra yields averaged 5.1 t/ha world wide in 1997, but USA and Cyprus both reported yields of around 20 t/ha, and average yield in Kuwait was reported at 68.8 t/ha (FAO 1998). Yields of 7-12 t/ha are considered good (Duzyaman 1997).

Postharvest

Handling: Grade according to size and pack into 9 litre containers (Anonymous 1994). Sensitive to ethylene exposure (Welby and McGregor 1997).

Temperature: 7-10°C (Welby and McGregor 1997). Pods are sensitive to chilling injury, exhibited as calyx discolouration, seed browning and surface pitting (Duzyaman 1997), and are injured by just one light freezing (Welby and McGregor 1997).

Relative humdity: Optimum is 90-95%, as the crop has a medium susceptibility to water loss (Welby and McGregor 1997).

Shelf life: 7-10 days is reasonable (Welby and McGregor 1997). Two weeks is plausible under good storage conditions, but without any care they will deteriorate within two days (Duzyaman 1997).

Quality of fruit after blanching and dehydrating was studied by Inyang and Ike (1998).

Pests and diseases

Most common pests are heliothis, rough bollworm and looper caterpillars, and vegetable bug. All can be controlled using endosulfan, or methomyl at 1.5 ml/L for heliothis. Crop rotation and destruction of diseased plants is recommended for managing wilts (Anonymous 1994). Susceptible to Verticillium wilt, hence must keep away from cotton (Alan Wearing 1999, pers. comm.). Potential viruses are listed at Plant viruses online (Brunt et al. 1996). An extensive review of pest control is given in Duzyaman (1997).

(A)
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(B)
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Figure 2: US imports of fresh / chilled (A, FAO 1998) and boiled / frozen okra (B, US Census Bureau, via the Government Information Sharing Project, Oregon State University).

Export markets

(click here for exchange rates).

21 countries were producing okra commercially in 1997 (FAO 1998).

It is grown in glasshouses in Japan, hence it may be viable to air freight in from the Australian Eastern seaboard. Aim to supply Oct - Feb.

Imports of fresh or chilled okra to the US are growing rapidly in volume, while imports of further processed okra remain comparatively low.

Malaysia exports about 4 500 t/year at US$0.16/kg (FAO 1998).


References

Anonymous (1994). Okra. DPI note. Agdex 268-11. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.

Brunt, A.A., Crabtree, K., Dallwitz, M.J., Gibbs, A.J., Watson, L. and Zurcher, E.J. (eds.) (1996 onwards). `Plant Viruses Online: Descriptions and Lists from the VIDE Database. Version: 16th January 1997.

Duzyaman, E. (1997). Okra: botany and horticulture. Horticultural Reviews 21: 41-72.

FAO (1998). FAOSTAT statistics database (URL: http://apps.fao.org/default.htm).

Gasti, V. D., Madalageri, B. B., Dharmatti, P. R. and Ryagi, Y. H. (1997). Studies on response of growth retardants on commercial vegetables. Advances in Agricultural Research in India 7: 19-21.

Inyang, U. E. and C. I. Ike (1998). Effect of blanching, dehydration method and temperature on the ascorbic acid, colour, sliminess and other constituents of okra fruit. International Journal of Food Sciences & Nutrition 49(2): 125-130.

Jahan, N., Fattah, Q. A., Mondal, R. I. and Mahtab, L. (1997). Physiological and biochemical responses following mixtalol treatments in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench.). Bangladesh Journal of Botany 26(2): 107-113.

Jambhale, N. D. and Nerkar, Y. S. (1990). Okra. Vegetable growing handbook, organic and traditional methods. Ed.: W. E. Splittstoesser. Melbourne, Thomas Nelson Australia: 589-607.

Jambhale N. D. and Nerkar, Y. S. (1998). Okra. In: Handbook of vegetable science and technology: production, composition, storage and processing. (Ed; Salunkhe, D. K. and Kadam, S. S.). New York, Marcel Dekker 589-607

Nargis, J., Fattah, Q. A., Mondal, M. R. I. and Lolita, M. (1997). Physiological and biochemical responses following mixtalol treatments in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench.). Bangladesh Journal of Botany 26(2): 107-113.

Rai, S., Hossain, M. and Hossain, F. (1998). Effect of growth regulators on yield and quality of okra fibre (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). Horticultural Journal 11(1): 77-82.

Saimbhi, M. S., Daljit, S., Sandhu, K. S., Kooner, K. S. and Dhillon, N. P. S. (1997). Effect of plant spacing on fruit yield in okra. Agricultural Science Digest 17(1): 40-42.

Singh, O. (1998). Effect of soil salinity and nitrogen on yield and nutrient uptake in okra (Hibiscus esculentus). Indian Journal of Agronomy 43(2): 333-337.

Sundarvelu, S., Muthukrishnana, T. and Arumugam, S. (1998). Effect of fungicides on the growth, chlorophyll content and yield of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench). Advances in Plant Sciences 11(1): 33-36.

Welby, E. M. and McGregor, B. (1997). Agricultural Export Transportation Handbook. USDA Agricultural Handbook 700, United States Department of Agriculture.