Crop overview
- Crop type: Annual, warm-season vegetable crop (Malvaceae family)
- Growth habit: Erect, fast-growing herbaceous plant with deep tap root and branching stem
- Economic importance: Highly popular vegetable crop with continuous harvesting and high market demand
- Nutritional value: Rich in dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, folate, calcium, potassium and antioxidants
Agro-climatic requirements
Climate: Optimum temperature 24–32°C
- sensitive to frost; growth slows below 18°C
Soil: Well-drained sandy loam to loam soil; pH 6.0–7.5 ideal
- avoid heavy clay and waterlogged soils
Season of sowing (in India)
- Kharif: June–July
- Rabi: September–October
- Summer: January–February
- Protected cultivation: Year-round
Bed preparation and management
- Okra is generally direct seeded in the field; nursery raising is rarely practiced
- Prepare raised beds of 80–100 cm width and 15–20 cm height if nursery is required
- Mix well-decomposed FYM and neem cake before sowing
- Sow seeds 2–3 cm deep
- Light irrigation after sowing
- Seedling age: 15–18 days if transplanting is practiced
Seed rate
- Hybrid 3–4 Kg/ha
Open-pollinated varieties 8–10 Kg/ha
- (Seed rate depends on spacing and germination percentage.)
Seed treatment
- Seed is treated with Trichodermaviride @ 4 g/kg seed OR Carbendazim + Mancozeb (2 g/kg) OR Thiram @ 2–3 g/kg
Field preparation
- 1 deep ploughing followed by 2–3 harrowing for fine tilth
- incorporate well-decomposed FYM @ 20–25 t/ha
- Add neem cake @ 250 kg/ha in pits if nematode-prone soil
Method of sowing
- Pre-sowing irrigation: 3–4 days before sowing
- sow 2–3 seeds per hill and thin to one healthy plant
- Sowing is usually done on ridges or beds
- prefer evening irrigation after sowing for better germination
Spacing
- Normal spacing: 45 × 30 cm
- High density: 45 × 20 cm
- Rainfed crop: 60 × 30 cm
- Protected cultivation: 40–50 cm row spacing and 25–30 cm plant spacing
Nutrient management per hectare
Total recommended nutrients: 100–120: 50–60: 50–60 kg NPK and FYM 20-25 t/ha
- Basal dose: 50% N, 100% P, 50% K before sowing
- First top dressing (20–25 DAS): 25% N
- Second top dressing (40–45 DAS): 25% N + 50% K
- Add 25 kg MgSO₄ if deficiency-prone soils
Irrigation
Light irrigation immediately after sowing
irrigate at 5–6 days interval in summer and 7–10 days in winter
avoid moisture stress during flowering and pod development
Critical stages Flowering and pod formation
Layout and planting for drip irrigation and fertigation
- Install drip laterals before transplanting and place seedlings near emitters (not directly on them); transplant in the evening and run drip for 30–60 minutes immediately to wet the root zone properly
- Avoid flood irrigation after drip installation to prevent system damage and poor root aeration
- Emitter spacing are 30–40 cm (sandy soil), 40–50 cm (loam/clay loam) and discharge is 2–4 LPH per emitter
Fertigation schedule
- 0–20 DAS: 19:19:19 @ 2–3 kg/acre/week (early growth)
- 21–40 DAS: Urea + MAP @ 3–4 kg/acre/week (vegetative growth)
- 41–60 DAS: Urea + SOP @ 4–5 kg/acre/week (flowering and pod formation)
- Throughout crop: Micronutrient mixture, fortnightly
Intercultural operations
- Mulching: Black/silver plastic mulch for moisture conservation and weed control
- Earthing up: Done at 25–30 DAS to support plants
- Thinning: Maintain one healthy plant per hill
Weed management
- Critical period: 15–40 DAS
- Two hand weedings at 20 and 35 DAS
- Pre-emergence Pendimethalin @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha
- Ensure adequate soil moisture before herbicide application
Growth and micronutrient management
- Spray 1% Calcium nitrate at flowering, spray 0.5% Urea + 1% KNO₃ at 15-day intervals during fruiting and boron 0.2% spray at flowering to improve fruit set
Physiological disorders
- Flower drop – High temperature or moisture stress
- Curved pods – Nutrient imbalance or moisture stress
- Poor fruit set – Boron deficiency
- Yellowing leaves – Nitrogen deficiency
- Hard pods – Delayed harvesting
Plant protection—Pest
- Fruit and shoot borer: Larvae bore into shoots and pods; spray Emamectin benzoate or Spinosad
- Aphids: Leaf curling and honeydew; spray Imidacloprid or Acephate
- Whitefly: Virus transmission; spray Thiamethoxam or Acetamiprid
- Mites: Leaf bronzing; spray Abamectin
Plant protection—Disease
- Yellow vein mosaic virus: syellow veins on leaves; control whiteflies and use resistant hybrids
- Powdery mildew: White powder on leaves; spray Wettable sulphur
- Leaf spot: Brown spots; spray Mancozeb
- Damping-off: Seedling rot; treat seeds with Trichoderma and drench Captan
Harvesting
- First harvest 45–50 days after sowing, harvest tender pods at 2–3day intervals
- avoid over-mature pods to maintain quality
Yield
- Open Polinated Varieties: 12-15 t/ha
- Hybrids: 18-25 t/ha
- Protected Cultivation: 30–40 t/ha (under good management)
Storage
- Store at 8-10°C and 90-95 % RH
- Storage life: 7–10 days
- Avoid mechanical injury and high humidity to prevent fungal growth