Okra

• Growing okra requires well-drained soil that’s neither over fertilized nor over watered.
• Well drained, sandy soils are preferred. Addition of manure or other organic material is usually beneficial on such light-textured soils. Okra grows best in neutral to slightly alkaline soils, pH 6- 6.8.

• Okra seed numbers approximately 8,000 per pound. Use approximately 3 Kg seed/acre. Plant 1 inch deep, 4-6 seeds/foot of row. Thin to desired spacing when plants are 3 inches tall. Germination many be enhanced by soaking seeds several (4-6 hours) hours or overnight immediately before planting. The seed will need to be surface dried for mechanical planting.
• Spacing should be 30X45 or 20X60 cm. Tall or spiny cultivars require wide spacing.
• Growers interested in early fresh market or in short growing season areas may find it profitable to transplant. Sow seeds in 2-inch pots or cell-packs, 3 seeds per pot, 1/4 inch deep, 4-5 weeks ahead of transplanting. Thin to 1 plant per pot or cell.

• Two weeks before sowing, apply 10 tonnes of FYM/acre ( 25 Tonnes/ha).
• Apply NPK 40:30:30 per acre before sowingof seeds. 3.After 30 days apply 20 kg of N/acre . Nitrogen should be given in form of Ammonium sulpahate.

• For summer crop , apply irrigation at 4-5 days interval depending on soil conditions.
• Good drainage should be provided in rainy season.

• Dusting with sulphur for powdery mildew (2-3 times)
• Dimethioate, Metasysto spray as per infestation
• Plant Protection schedule – 15 day after sowing- Imidaclorpid (0.25ml/ lit), 25 Day after sowing- Mancozeb (2gm/ lit)+ Acetamaprid (0.25 ml / lit) 35 Day after sowing – Spark( 2ml/lit), 45 day after sowing- chlorothalonil ( 2kg/lit)+ carbaryl (3 gm / lit), 55 day after sowing – Quinolphos ( 2ml / lit), 65 day after sowing – Triadimefon (0.5 gm/ lit )+ Dicofol (0.5 ml/ lit)

• Okra pods should be harvested while still tender and before the seeds are half grown. This is usually 5-6 days after flowering. Pods with tips that will bend between the fingers without breaking are too tough for use as fresh fruit. Consumer preference demands pods 2.5-3.5 inches long. Okra should be harvested about 3 times each week. Regular picking increases yield. Remove and discard old pods from the plant as such pods will retard pod set and reduce total yield.
• Yield – 4-10 ton/ acre