PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF OKRA/BHENDI

production tehnology of okra bhendi

Scientific Name: Abelmoschus esculentus

Family: Malvaceae

Chromosome number: 2n=72,108,130

Origin: Asiatic region /Etthiopea/Africa

Common names: Bhendi, Lady's Finger

Importance and uses:

  • Okra is more remunerative than the leafy vegetable
  • Tender green fruits are cooked in curry and also used in soups.
  • Okra is rich in vitamins, calcium, potassium and other minerals. 
  • The dry seeds contain 13-22% edible oil and 20-24% protein.
Area and production:

  • India is the largest producer of okra in the world.
  • The major bhendi growing areas are UP, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal.

Popular varities:

  • Pusa Makhmali
  • Pusa Sawani
  • Arka Anamika (Selection 10)
  • Arka Abhay 
  • Punjab Padmini Punjab -7
  • Parbhani Kranti 
  •  Varsha Uphar (HRB 9-2)
  • Gujarat Bhendi 1
  • Co-1,Co-2,Co-3 are some TNAU varieties 

Hybrids:

Bhendi hybrid COBh H 1

  • Resistance to yellow vein mosaic virus disease.
  • The fruits are dark green, slender, less fibrous and sparsely pubescent.

COBh H 3 

  • Slender, dark green colour fruit.
  • yield 25.7 t ha-1, 25-29 fruits per plant.
  • Resistance to Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus (YVMV) disease.

Bhendi Hybrid CO 4

  • Resistant to bhendi Yellow Mosaic Virus disease.
Climate:

  •  It is adapted to tropical climate and vigorous warm humid weather for best growth and production.
  • The optimum temperature range for growth is 20- 30°C.
Soil:

  • It grow in all kinds of soils ranging from sandy loam to clay.
  • The optimum pH for okra ranges from 6-6.8
Seasons

  • Kharif - June to July
  • Spring summer - February to March
  • Hill region - April to july
Preparation of field
  • Plough the land 4 - 5 times
  • Apply FYM 10 kg, neem cake 1 kg, super phosphate 100 g and Furadon 10 g/sq.m during last ploughing.
  • Form ridges and furrows at 45 cm apart.
Seed rate
  • Varieties : 8.0 kg / ha
  • Hybrids : 2.5 kg / ha
Seed treatment
Seed treatment with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g/kg or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10 g/ kg of seeds and again with 400 g of Azospirillum and dried in shade for 20 minutes.

Sowing
  • Sow three seeds per hill at 30 cm apart and then thin to 2 plants per hill  
  • Germination takes place 10 days after sowing 
Spacing - 45 x 30 cm

Manures and Fertilizer
  • The quantity of manures and fertilizers depends upon the type of soil.
  • In normal condition 25 tonnes of FYM,125:75:63 kg of NPK/ha.
Irrigation
  • During kharif, irrigate the crop as and when required.
  • In summer season irrigate at an interval of 5-6 days.
  • Avoid Flooding of plants.
Weed control
Fluchloralin @1.5kg a.i/ha as pre sowing soil incorporation and alachlor @ 2kg a.i/ha as post sowing gives control of weeds.

Plant growth regulators:
  • The highest average fruit set and yield were obtained with cycocel at 100 ppm
  • Seed soaking for 24hrs on seed treatment by GA (400 ppm), IAA (200 ppm) or NAA (20 ppm) enhanced germination
  • Ethephon (100-500ppm) reduced vegetative growth.
Physiological disorder:

Poor seed germination
  • Seed germinate poorly when soil temperature remains at or below 20°C.
  • The problem occurs during early spring summer cultivation when seed are to be sown at low temperature condition.
Control
  • Soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours.
  • Soaking the seeds in hot water at 45oC for 1/2 hours.
  • Seed treatment with alcohol for half an hour
Pests 

Fruit Borers
Mgt -
  • Set up pheromone trap at 12 Nos./ha.
  • Collection and destruction of affected fruits.
  • Release of egg parasite Trichogramma at 1.0 lakh/ha.
  • Release of 1st instar larvae of green lace wing bug Chrysoperla carnea @ 10,000/ha.
  • Dust carbaryl 10 % DP @ 25 kg /ha or spray Bacillus thuringiensis @ 2 g/lit.or spray Azadirachtin 0.03% WSP (300 ppm) 50g/lit

White fly and Aphids

Mgt -

White fly and Aphids can be controlled by spraying Dimethoate 30 EC 2 ml/lit combined with Neem Seed Kernel Extract 5 %.

Leaf hopper

Mgt-

  • Treat the seeds with imidacloprid 48 % FS or 70 % WS @ 7 g/kg or Thiamethoxam 70 % WS @ 2.8 g/kg of seed.
  • Dust carbaryl 5 % DP @ 20 kg /ha or carbaryl 10 % DP @ 25 kg /ha or apply carbofuran 3 % G @ 33 kg /ha or spray any one of the following insecticide
Ash weevil
Mgt-

  • Ash weevil can be controlled by the application of Carbofuran 3 G @ 12 kg/ha.

Nematode

Mgt-

  • Application of Carbofuran 3 G 1 kg a.i /ha or Phorate 10 G 1 kg a.i./ha and Neem cake 400 kg/ha at sowing in furrows along with fertilizers.

Diseases

Yellow vein mosaic virus

  • Spray systemic insecticides like Methyl demeton or Dimethoate @ 2 ml / l to kill the insect vector, whitefly.

Powdery mildew

Dust Sulphur 25 kg/ha or spray Carbendazim 1 g/lit or Wettable sulphur 2 g/lit immediately after noticing the disease and repeat after 15 days or four sprays of Triademephon (0.5%) at 10 days interval from 30 days after sowing.

powdery mildew in okra

Harvesting

  • The pods should be harvested when they are immature and green and have attained edible size.
  • In general, harvesting every alternate day is advisable.

  • The best length of pods should be 8 to 10 cm. For distant market harvesting in the late evening and transporting the produce during coolness of night is practiced.

Yield

 An average yield of 8 tonnes green fruits per hectare during spring-summer and 12.5 tonnes during rainy season.

Storage

  • Fruits could be stored at 7-9C temperature and 70- 75% RH for a couple of days without much loss in colour, texture of weight.
  • The pods can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days if water is sprinkled on the pods during day and once in night to keep them cool and fresh.


Reference

Textbook of vegetable crops by Prem nath k.R.M.swamy

Vegetable science by D.singh