When is the latest planting time for okra?
Okra, also known as coffee okra, Vietnamese sesame, goat's horn bean, paste hemp, okra, kidney-tonifying vegetable, etc., is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Abelmoschus in the Malvaceae family. It 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. Let's take a look at the planting time of okra!
Planting time of okra
For open-field cultivation of okra, sowing is mostly from April to June in both northern and southern regions, and harvesting is from July to October. In North China, sowing is generally from mid-to-late April to May. In cold northern regions, sunlight 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. From sowing to the formation of the first tender pod takes about 60 days, after which the entire harvesting period lasts 60-70 days, and the whole growth period can reach about 120 days.
Planting conditions of okra
1. Temperature: Okra likes warmth and fears severe cold, and has strong heat tolerance. When the air temperature is 13°C and the soil temperature is around 15°C, the seeds can germinate. However, the optimum temperature for both seed germination and growth is 25-30°C. When the monthly average temperature is below 17°C, flowering and fruiting are affected; when the night temperature is below 14°C, growth is slow, plants are short, leaves are narrow, flowering is reduced, and flower drop increases. At the optimum temperature of 26-28°C, there is more flowering, a higher fruit-setting rate, faster fruit development, higher yield, and better quality.
2. Water: Okra is drought-tolerant and moisture-tolerant, but not waterlogging-tolerant. If the soil is too wet during the germination period, it is easy to induce damping-off in seedlings. If there is drought during the fruiting period, plant growth is poor and quality is inferior, so the soil should always be kept moist.
3. Light: Okra is particularly sensitive to light conditions and requires a long photoperiod and sufficient light. A sunny plot should be chosen, ventilation should be strengthened, and reasonable close planting should be noted to avoid mutual shading and effects on ventilation and light penetration.
4. Soil: Okra has a relatively wide adaptability to soil and is not particular about soil fertility, but loam or sandy loam with deep soil layers, looseness and fertility, and good drainage is more suitable. In the early growth stage, fertilizer should be mainly nitrogen, while in the middle and late stages, more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is needed. However, too much nitrogen fertilizer makes plants prone to excessive vegetative growth, delays flowering and fruiting, and raises the node position of fruit setting; insufficient nitrogen fertilizer causes poor plant growth and affects flowering and fruit setting.
Okra planting methods
1. Land preparation and fertilization: For the plot prepared for planting okra, after the previous crop is harvested, deep plowing should be carried out in autumn and winter in a timely manner, with deep plowing of 30 cm, to deepen the cultivated soil layer, further loosen the soil, and enhance the soil's water storage and fertilizer retention capacity. Before planting, make the land fine, level, loose, and soft, with a loose surface and firm subsoil. Okra requires relatively more fertilizer. Apply 5000 kg of decomposed barnyard manure and 20 kg of compound fertilizer per mu, spread them on the ground before land preparation, then plow them deeply into the soil, harrow and mix them evenly so that soil and fertilizer are mixed, and then open furrows and make beds.
2. Sowing at the right time: Direct seeding is mostly used, but seedling transplanting can also be used. Generally, sowing is in mid-May, transplanting is in mid-June, and large-scale harvesting is in August.
3. Thinning and intertillage: After okra emerges, thinning should be done in a timely manner. When there are 2-3 true leaves, remove diseased, weak, and small seedlings, leaving 2 plants per hole. After the seedlings emerge, intertillage and weeding should be carried out in a timely manner, about once every 10 days. Before the first flower opens, intertillage should be strengthened and seedlings should be properly restrained to promote root development. Before the rows close, carry out intertillage and hilling to prevent plants from lodging.
4. Fertilizer and water management: Okra is relatively drought-tolerant and moisture-tolerant, and during the growth period it requires relatively high air and soil humidity, especially during the flowering and fruiting period when sufficient water is needed. Okra has a long growth and harvesting period, and the whole growth period is about 100 days. On the basis of applying sufficient base fertilizer, topdressing should be done appropriately. The first topdressing is carried out after emergence, applying 6-7 kg of urea per mu.
5. Setting up supports and removing leaves: In summer, supports should be set up to prevent lodging. Bamboo poles or branches 1 m long can be inserted beside the plant roots to support the plants. In the early growth stage, prevent excessive vegetative growth from causing leggy growth, and in the middle and late stages, promptly remove the old leaves on each node below the harvested tender pods. For fruits kept for seed, timely pinching should be done to promote the aging and maturity of the seed fruits, which helps the seeds become plump and improves seed quality.