Overview of the Latest Main Producing Areas of Okra

The okra producing area was originally Africa; Egypt and the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbados grow it in relatively large amounts, and it is one of the vegetables favored by the peoples of Africa, the Americas and Southeast Asia. China introduced it from India and has grown it for about 60 years; small amounts are cultivated around cities nationwide, mostly in southern cities.

Okra is an annual herb; its root is a taproot system with a well-developed main root that penetrates deeply into the soil. The stem is erect, highly lignified, cylindrical, 1-2 m tall, with lateral branches, green or dark purple, covered with coarse hairs. The leaves are alternate, usually palmately 5-7 parted, 6-15 cm in diameter, the lobes lanceolate to triangular, the margins irregularly serrate, occasionally shallowly lobed like maple leaves, the base cordate, both surfaces sparsely covered with stiff hairs.

The okra petiole is slender, up to 7-15 cm long, sparsely covered with stiff hairs. The stipules are linear, 7-8 mm long. Above the 3rd node of the main stem, besides lateral branches, each node bears 1 flower, bisexual, yellow, with five sepals and five petals; the flowers are solitary in the leaf axils, the pedicel 2-3 cm long, covered with reflexed stiff hairs; the bracteoles number 8-10, linear, 10-13 mm long; the calyx is spathe-like, 2-3 cm long, 5-lobed, usually caducous; the flower is yellow, dark purple at the base inside, 7-12 cm in diameter; the staminal column is about 2.5 cm long, smooth and hairless; the style has 5 branches, the stigma disc-shaped; the flowers usually open at 8-9 a.m. and wilt in the afternoon.

The okra capsule is oblong, 5-6 cm long, pointed at the tip, covered with long yellow stiff hairs; the seeds are kidney-shaped, with glandular veins, and fragrant. The flowering period is June to October.