A Detailed Guide to Okra Prices and Growing Methods in 2017
Okra is an annual herbaceous plant that looks like a green pepper but is not spicy. Nowadays okra is becoming more and more popular, and everyone can grow it at home, which is convenient and healthy. So how much was a jin of okra in 2017? The okra pods are crisp, tender and juicy, smooth and not greasy, with a unique aroma. Greenhouse okra comes onto the market anew in March, and in some places the wholesale price reaches 20 yuan per kilogram, which can be called a high price. You have to wait until open-field okra is listed in large quantities in June and July for the price to fall back, and by then the price is worlds apart from late March. Last year, when the price was low, it sold for 1.9 yuan/jin or even lower.
Below are some growing methods for okra.
[Balcony growing method]
Suitable for growing a small amount at home.
1. First, select seeds. You can buy mature okra pods online, and just choose plump seeds.
2. Prepare a flowerpot and potting soil. The flowerpot must be large, because okra can reach a height of more than one meter.
3. The seeds should be raised ahead of time. Make a small nutrient box yourself and transplant after the seedlings emerge, or you can plant them directly in the flowerpot, though it is best to transplant them. The time for raising seedlings can be in early spring. Germination takes about 7-0 days, and during this period keep the soil moist.
4. After transplanting, keep the flowerpot facing the sun and water regularly. It is not as delicate as many flowers; just take a little care with it, just like growing vegetables.
5. In summer okra begins to grow taller, and in autumn, the fruiting season, you can harvest for a long time. Harvest in time; more than 10 days after the flower opens, the pod will become so hard that it cannot be eaten at all
Notes
The best harvest period for okra is 5-6 days after the flower opens; pods 6-8 cm long are the most delicious.
[Open-field growing method]
Suitable for large-scale production and growing.
1. Planting time
Yellow okra likes warmth and fears frost. The entire growth period should be arranged within the frost-free period, and the flowering and fruiting period should be in the warm and humid season of each region. For open-field cultivation, sowing is mostly from April to June in both the north and south, and harvest is from July to October. In North China, sowing is generally from mid-to-late April to May. In cold northern regions, solar greenhouses and plastic tunnels are often used for centralized seedling raising, and after the late frost in early spring, the seedlings are transplanted into the field.
2. Land preparation and bed making
Yellow okra should not be continuously cropped, nor should it follow fruit vegetables, so as to avoid root-knot nematodes. It is best to choose root vegetables, leafy vegetables, etc. as the previous crop. Soil with deep, fertile, loose, water- and fertilizer-retentive loam is more suitable. After the previous crop is harvested before winter, plow deeply in time, spread 75000 kg of decomposed barnyard manure and 300 kg of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer per hectare, mix evenly, rake level and make beds.
3. Sowing
Yellow okra generally uses multi-row direct sowing. Before sowing, soak the seeds for 12 hours, then place them at 25-30°C to germinate. After about 24 hours the seeds begin to sprout, and when 60%-70% of the seeds “break their mouths”, sow them. Hole sowing is preferable, with 3 plants per hole, and the hole depth is 2-3 cm. In all regions, sow at the right time after the final frost period. Water first, then sow, and then cover with about 2 cm of soil. For direct sowing, use 10 kg of seed per hectare; for seedling raising and transplanting, use about 3 kg of seed per hectare.
4. Seedling raising and transplanting
In early to mid-March, sow and raise seedlings in a sunny cold frame or solar greenhouse. The bed soil is made by mixing 6 parts garden soil, 3 parts decomposed organic fertilizer, and 1 part fine sand. Before sowing, soak the seeds to promote germination, level the seedbed, sow in spots at a plant and row spacing of 10 cm, and cover with soil about 2 cm thick. After sowing, keep the bed soil temperature at 25°C, and in 4-5 days they will germinate and emerge. The seedling age is 30-40 days, and they are transplanted when the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves. It is best to use root-protecting seedling measures such as plastic pots and nutrient soil blocks to cultivate strong seedlings of the right age. For seedling raising and transplanting, use about 3 kg of seed per hectare.
5. Field management
(1) Thinning: the first thinning is done when the heart breaks, removing weak and residual seedlings. The second thinning is at 2-3 true leaves, keeping strong seedlings. At 3-4 true leaves, final thinning is done, keeping 1 plant per hole.
(2) Cultivation, weeding and earthing up
After the seedlings emerge or are transplanted, the temperature is relatively low, so cultivation should be carried out twice in succession to raise the ground temperature and promote recovery of the seedlings. Before the first flower opens, strengthen cultivation so as to appropriately restrain seedling growth and benefit root development. After flowering and fruiting, the plants grow faster, and after each watering and topdressing, cultivation should be carried out. Before the rows close, cultivate and earth up to prevent the plants from lodging. In areas with many summer rainstorms and much wind, it is best to insert bamboo poles about 1 meter long, or branches, near the plants to prevent lodging.
6. Water and fertilizer management
Watering: yellow okra requires relatively high air and soil humidity during its growth period. If there is a shortage of water within 20 days after sowing, manual sprinkler irrigation in the morning and evening is advisable. After the seedlings are somewhat larger, mechanical sprinkler irrigation or furrow irrigation can be used. The hot summer season is exactly the peak harvest period of yellow okra, when the water demand is large and the surface temperature is high. Water before 9 a.m. and after sunset in the afternoon, avoiding watering under high temperatures, which can damage the roots. During the rainy season, pay attention to drainage to prevent seedling death. Throughout the growth period, keep the soil moist as the standard.
Topdressing: on the basis of applying sufficient base fertilizer, topdressing should be done appropriately, and nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied alone. The first is the full-stand fertilizer, applied after the seedlings emerge, with 90-120 kg of urea per hectare.
The second is the seedling-promoting fertilizer, applied in furrows after final thinning or transplanting, with 225-300 kg of compound fertilizer per hectare. During the flowering and fruiting period, apply one heavy fertilizer, 30000-45000 kg of diluted human manure, or 300-450 kg of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer. In the middle and late stages of growth, apply topdressing multiple times in small amounts as appropriate to prevent premature aging of the plants.
7. Plant adjustment
Under normal conditions, yellow okra plants grow vigorously, with thick main and side branches and large leaves, which often delays flowering and fruiting. The branch-twisting method can be adopted, that is, twisting the petioles into a curved and drooping shape to control vegetative growth. In the middle and late stages of growth, promptly remove the old leaves on the nodes below the harvested tender pods, which can improve ventilation and light conditions, reduce nutrient consumption, and prevent the spread of diseases and pests. For those harvesting tender pods, timely topping can promote fruiting on side branches and increase early yield. For those harvesting seed pods, timely topping can promote the aging and ripening of seed pods, helping the seeds to be plump and improving seed quality.
8. Disease and pest control
[Diseases]
Phytophthora blight
Coffee okra can be infected at the seedling stage and adult plant stage. After the seedlings grow beyond 20 cm, the phytophthora blight lesions spread from the leaves to the main stem, making the stem thinner and discolored, until the whole plant wilts or collapses. Leaf infection mostly starts from the tip or edge of the lower leaves of the plant. In the early stage of the disease, the lesions are dark green, water-soaked and irregular in shape, and after expansion they turn brown. Control: seize the early stage of the disease and spray once every 7-10 days with 72% mancozeb and cymoxanil WP (Curzate) 500-fold solution, or 69% dimethomorph and mancozeb WP 900-fold solution, or 64% oxadixyl and copper WP 400-fold solution, or 58% metalaxyl and mancozeb WP 500-fold solution, for 2-3 treatments.
Viral disease
Viral disease of coffee okra is a major disease in yellow okra production, and the disease is more severe at the adult plant stage than at the seedling stage. After the plant is infected, the whole plant is affected, especially the tender leaves at the top are very obviously affected, and the leaves show mosaic or brown mottled patterns. If infected early, the plant is dwarfed and bears few or no fruits. Control methods: do not save seeds from diseased fields, choose disease-resistant varieties, and in the early stage of the disease use 5% morpholine guanidine WP 400-500-fold solution, or 20% virus A WP 400-fold solution, or 15% plant disease spirit 1000-fold solution, or 83% resistance enhancer 100-fold for 3 treatments, once every 7-10 days.
[Pests]
Poisonous caterpillars
Coffee okra is mainly harmed during the seedling stage. They often feed on the leaf flesh after emergence, causing notches, and in severe cases leave only the leaf veins. Control: spray with 10% chlorfenapyr EC 1500-fold solution, or 5% fipronil SC 1500-fold solution, or avermectin EC plus fenvalerate EC 3000-fold solution.
American leafminer
Coffee okra can be harmed throughout the entire growth period, mainly on the leaves. It can be controlled with 1.8% abamectin EC (avermectin) 5000-fold solution, or 52.25% chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin EC 1000-fold solution, or 48% chlorpyrifos EC 1000-fold solution, or 5% fipronil SC 800-fold solution.
Aphids
Coffee okra can be affected throughout the entire growth period, with heavier damage at the adult plant stage. Imidacloprid-type pesticides such as 10% Yibianjing, 10% Yashiping, 10% Dagongchen, etc. can be used at 3000-fold solution.
9. Harvest requirements
Harvest time
Generally, after the first fruit is harvested, harvest once every 2-4 days in the early stage, and as the temperature rises, the harvest interval shortens. In the peak fruiting period in August, harvest once a day or every other day. After September, as the temperature drops, harvest once every 3-4 days.
Harvest standards
The general requirement is that tender pods should be firm and tough, green and bright, with seeds beginning to swell but showing no signs of aging. For tender pods for fresh eating, when the temperature is high the pod length is 7-10 cm and the transverse diameter is 1.7 cm; when the temperature is lower, the pod length is 7-9 cm and the transverse diameter is 1.7 cm. For tender pods for processing, those 6-7 cm long with a transverse diameter of 1.5 cm are Grade A; those 8-9 cm long with a transverse diameter of about 1.7 cm are Grade B; pods more than 10 cm long are substandard. Whether for fresh eating or processing, the pod length should not exceed 10 cm. If harvesting is not timely, the flesh ages, the fiber increases, and the commercial edible value is greatly reduced.
Harvest method
Harvesters should wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts, and wear gloves to prevent stinging of the hands and legs; use scissors to cut from the fruit stalk, and never tear or pick with the hands, so as to avoid damaging the plant; be careful to cut cleanly and not miss any. If missed or harvested late, not only will the single pod be old, of poor quality, and affect eating and processing, but it will also affect the growth and development of other tender pods.
Post-harvest freshness preservation
Tender pods have strong respiration and are very prone to turning yellow and aging after harvest. If they cannot be eaten or processed in time, attention should be paid to freshness preservation. Put the tender pods into a plastic bag, cool them in flowing cold water at 4-5°C for 10 minutes until they reach about 10°C, then store them at 7-10°C with a relative humidity of 95%, and they can be kept fresh for 7-10 days. For tender fruits to be sold to distant places, the fruit stalks must be trimmed neatly in the morning, put into freshness-preserving bags or plastic boxes, then gently placed in cardboard boxes or wooden boxes, and sent as soon as possible to a 0-5°C cold storage for pre-cooling before transport. If the tender pods become dark, wilted, soft and yellow, they should be dealt with immediately and must not be stored further.