Evaluation Of Okra Cultivars And Breeding Lines For Agronomic Traits In Umudike In Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Six (6) genotypes comprising two (2) cultivars and four (4) breeding lines of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) were studied in a randomized complete block design with three (3) replicates to determine their performance under Umudike environmental conditions in 2002 and 2003 cropping seasons. With respect to fresh pod yield, all the genotypes performed very well in both years, although the breeding lines performed better than the two (2) varieties. Breeding lines LD88/1-8-16-2 and LD88/1-8-13-2-4 recorded fresh pod yields of 3.6 and 3.2 t/ha in 2002, 3.5 and 3.3 t/ha in 2003 respectively, which are well above the fresh pod yields recorded for Okra in the tropics. The early maturing Okra genotypes used in the present study with 3 to 4 months duration present a possibility of growing two crops of Okra (early and late croppings) in one year, unlike the indigenous photoperiod sensitive varieties with eight to nine months duration.

Keywords: Okra, cultivars, breeding lines, and Agronomic traits

Global Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol. 7 (1) 2008: pp. 11-15