The Organic
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Vegetables · Fruiting

Growing okra

Abelmoschus esculentus · also called BhindiA hot weather vegetable grown for its tender green pods. It is sown straight in the field in spring-summer and in the rains, and needs full sun and no frost.

Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
Pale green okra pods growing upright among the leaves of okra plants against a blue sky
Photo: Wilfredor · CC0

At a glance

Okra in the Sub-tropical foothills

  • Season

    Spring-summer crop and rainy season crop1

  • Sowing to last picking

    About 3 to 4 months from sowing to the last picking.8

  • Sow

    February to March1

    Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  • First harvest

    40 to 50 days after sowing1

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Wait until February

The next sowing here is February to March.

Sowing now in:West coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Under cover
  • Today
Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and Spiti · Under cover onlyNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Sub-tropical foothillsFebruary to MarchJune to JulyMarch to MayApril to JuneAugust to October
Temperate HimalayaMarch to JuneApril to MayApril to MayMayJuly to September
Cold desertUnder cover onlyUnder cover: May, inside a polyhouseUnder cover: July to early September
North-west plainsFebruary to MarchJune to JulyMid-JuneApril to JuneAugust to October
Gangetic plainsFebruary to MarchJanuary to FebruaryJune to JulyJuly to September
North-east hills and valleysFebruary to early AprilApril to MayLate April to August
Arid westJune to JulyFebruary to MarchAugust to October
Central plateauJune to JulyFebruary to MarchAugust to October
Deccan plateauJune to JulyJanuary to MarchAugust to October
South interiorJune to JulyLate January to FebruarySeptember to early October
West coastFebruary to MarchJune to JulyOctober to November
East coastJune to JulyLate January to FebruarySeptember

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Farmyard manure

    10 t per acre · Mix into the soil while preparing the land. · Field preparation

    Vermicompost

    4 to 6 t per hectare · Broadcast it during the last ploughing. · Final land preparation

    Azotobacter or phosphate solubilising bacteria1,2

    800 g per hectare · Stir into 10 litres of water, soak the seed in it for 2 to 3 hours and dry it in shade before sowing. · Sowing

  2. Day 0

    Sow

  3. Day 5 to 10

    Seeds come up1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  4. Day 40 to 50

    First picking1

    Every other day

  5. Day 90 to 120

    Last picking8

Water every 5 to 6 days, more at flowering and fruit set.1

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1

    6 to 6.8

    Grows on sandy to clay loam with plenty of organic matter and good drainage. Loose, friable, well manured loam suits it most. Waterlogging harms the crop.

  • Sunlight1

    Full sun. Plenty of sunshine matters for growth and yield.

  • Temperature1,8

    Grows best at 25 to 30 °C

    Frost: none tolerated.

    Monthly temperatures for the Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering1

Sow into moist soil. Give the first watering when the first true leaf appears in spring-summer, or when it opens out in the rainy season. After that, water every 5 to 6 days in summer and only as needed in the rains. Too much water makes plants wilt.

Weeding1

Hoe or weed 3 or 4 times: first when the seedlings are two weeks old, then every fortnight.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Field preparationFarmyard manure10 t per acreMix into the soil while preparing the land.
Final land preparationVermicompost4 to 6 t per hectareBroadcast it during the last ploughing.
SowingAzotobacter or phosphate solubilising bacteria800 g per hectareStir into 10 litres of water, soak the seed in it for 2 to 3 hours and dry it in shade before sowing.

Sources1,2

Varieties and yield

Typical range4

80 to 100 quintals a hectare

Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.

Varieties grown here1

  • Jammu Okra-05

    SKUAST-Jammu, 2017. For spring-summer and rainy season sowing in Jammu; field resistance to yellow vein mosaic and fruit borer.

  • Pusa Sawani

    Spring-summer crop in the plains.

  • Pusa A-4

    Tolerant to yellow vein mosaic and aphids.

  • Arka Anamika

    Field tolerant to yellow vein mosaic.

  • Varsha Uphar

    Rainy season; resistant to yellow vein mosaic.

  • Hisar Unnat

    Rainy season; resistant to yellow vein mosaic.

  • Hisar Naveen

    Rainy season; tolerant to yellow vein mosaic.

Good neighbours5

Pests and diseases1

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Jassid (leafhopper)

    Signs

    Tiny green insects suck sap from the undersides of the leaves.

    What to do

    • Put up delta traps or sticky traps, about 4 an acre.

  • Pest

    Aphid

    Signs

    Colonies of small soft insects on young shoots and under leaves.

    What to do

    • Put up yellow sticky traps, about 4 an acre.

  • Pest

    Shoot and fruit borer (Earias species)

    Signs

    Caterpillars bore into the tender shoots, which droop, and into the pods.

    What to do

    • Set Earias pheromone lures (Ervit lure), 5 to 6 an acre, to trap the moths in bulk.
    • Pick all pods fit to eat before any spray.

  • Pest

    Whitefly (carrier of yellow vein mosaic)

    Signs

    Small white insects under the leaves; they spread yellow vein mosaic.

    What to do

    • Remove weeds that host the fly.
    • Put up delta or sticky traps, about 4 an acre.

  • Pest

    Blister beetle

    Signs

    Beetles feed on the flowers.

    What to do

    • Pick the beetles by hand and destroy them.

  • Disease

    Seed and seedling rot (Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Phytophthora)

    Signs

    Seeds rot before they come up; seedlings that do come up rot dark brown at the roots and collar and die.

    What to do

    • Sow healthy seed.

  • Disease

    Yellow vein mosaic · YVMV

    Signs

    Leaf veins turn yellow, then the whole leaf; plants stay stunted and set few, pale yellowish-white pods. Worse in the rainy season crop. Spread by whitefly.

    What to do

    • Pull out infected plants early.

    Prevention

    • Grow resistant or tolerant varieties, above all for the rainy season.

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Keep at least 200 m between two varieties, because okra often crosses. Walk the seed crop before flowering, at flowering and fruiting, and before harvest, and pull out off-types and diseased plants. In the Punjab plains the seed crop is sown flat in mid-June at 60 x 25 cm.

When the seed is ready

The seed crop matures in 90 to 100 days. Pods ripen unevenly, so pick them dry and brown in 3 or 4 rounds.

Cleaning the seed

Dry the picked pods in the sun, thresh them and clean the seed.

Dry the seed well in the sun before storing. Keep it in airtight containers in a cool, dry place; it keeps well for a year or two.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

In Jammu a spring okra crop runs from late January to June and is followed by cucumber, then potato; a June-sown crop runs to October. Clear the plants after the last picking, compost the healthy ones and destroy any with yellow vein mosaic.

Pull out and destroy plants and residues carrying mites or borers straight after the last picking. Healthy residues can go to the compost heap.

Rotation

Do not follow okra with another crop of the mallow family (cotton, hollyhock). Rotate with cereals, which also lowers root-knot nematodes. In Punjab, potato, okra and early cauliflower follow one another in a year; in nematode fields, cauliflower, onion and then okra.

Sources

Where this comes from

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

  1. 1Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (Bhindi/Okra)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of JammuRead the source
  2. 10Organic farming practices: bhendi, harvesting and post-harvestTamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech PortalRead the source
  3. 2Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2016 (Okra/Bhindi)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of JammuRead the source
  4. 4Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Okra)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
  5. 5AESA based IPM package: OkraNational Institute of Plant Health Management and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source
  6. 7Bhendi: sowing (Horticulture, vegetables)Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech PortalRead the source
  7. 8Organic farming practices: bhendi, climate and soilTamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech PortalRead the source
  8. 9Organic farming practices: bhendi, cultivationTamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech PortalRead the source

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