Okra

Short description of the species

Botanical name

Okra

Latin name

Abelmoschus esculentus

Family

Malvaceae

Origin

Central Africa

Crop classification

fruit vegetables

Plant height

1-3 m

Plant width

0.5-0.7 m

Exposition

sunny location

Temperature requirement

warm-requiring – sensitive to low temperature

Maintennance

medium

Water requirement

relatively low

Soil requirement

light to medium-heavy

Soil pH

6.0 – 6.8

Edible part

ruits, seeds, leaves

accessibility

Usage

- young fruits: steaming, boiling, side dish, soup thickening, conservation (sweet-acid pickle similarly to cucumber) - seeds: coffee substitution - leaves: similarly to spinach

Growing technology and harvest 

Propagation 

• generative – planting from seedlings 

Spacing 

• 0.60 x 0.30-0.50 m 

Harvest 

• young, fine fruits long 30-120 mm 

• first fruits - approximately 40-45 days from planting to the field 

Important dates 

Storage

• 7-10 days in fridge/cooling box

Use

• fruit – steaming, boiling, side dish, soup thickening, conservation (sweet-acid pickle similarly to cucumber)

• seeds – coffee substitution

• leaves – similarly to spinach

Diseases and pests

• virus diseases: Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus (YVMV)

• fungus diseases: leaf spottiness, mildew

• pests: spotted bollworm (Earias vittella; Earias insulana), leafhooper (Amrasca biguttula), aphids, whiteflies