Okra farming: Farmer got bumper yield from improved variety

Okra farming is done all over the country and its specialty is that it can be grown throughout the year. Bhindi is also known as Okra. Apart from being great in taste, okra is also rich in nutrients. It contains a good amount of Vitamin C and Vitamin K. Antioxidants are also abundant, which reduces the risk of many serious diseases. Okra is considered very beneficial for health. Agricultural scientists are continuously developing its new varieties, so that the farmers get more yield and the damage caused by pests is also reduced. Kashi Chaman is a high yielding variety developed by scientists, which is ready in just one and a half months.

Who developed the Kashi Chaman variety of okra? 

Kashi Chaman, an improved variety of okra, was developed in 2019 by ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The specialty of this variety is that it can be cultivated in both summer and rainy season.

Disease resistance of this variety of okra is good 

This variety is resistant to the diseases Yellow Vain Mosaic Virus (YVMV) and Okra Enation Leaf Curl Virus (OELCV). It has good disease resistance to these diseases.

Both these diseases are considered very dangerous for okra crop and cause a lot of damage to the crops. Kashi Chaman is not only disease resistant, but its yield potential is also more than other varieties by 21.66%. This is the reason that this variety has become popular in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, it is being cultivated in an area of ​​about 10,000 hectares.

Bumper yield in one and a half months 

On July 10, 2021, farmer Upendra Singh Patel, resident of Bengalipur village, Varanasi, sowed Kashi Chaman variety of okra in 0.3 acres. Followed the advice given by scientists for farming. Used the fertilizers and pesticides prescribed by him. He took the first harvest of the crop only 46 days after sowing. After this start harvesting 35 to 40 kg okra crop at an interval of 3-4 days. In about 90 days till October, he got 668 kilos of okra crop. This gave him a net profit of about Rs 21,376.

Okra cultivation 

Sandy loam soil is considered best for okra farming. There should be proper drainage system in the field. The pH value of the soil should be up to 7-8. Okra crop is good in Kharif and rainy season. Too much heat and too cold weather can damage its crop. In areas where frost falls in winter, okra cultivation is not successful. Okra seeds require a temperature of 20°C for germination and then 27-30°C for crop development.

When to sow? 

For summer okra farming, seeds are sown between February to March and for rainy season its seeds are sown in the month of July. Before sowing the seeds should be treated with cow urine or carbendazim. About 5 kg of seed is required for sowing in one hectare. At the time of sowing keep row to row distance of one feet and plant to plant distance of 25-30 cm. Keep weeding from time to time for weed control and use insecticides to prevent pests.