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Vegetable crop study results

Okra Branching Study, Bixby, OK

Lynn Brandenberger and Lynda Carrier, Oklahoma State University

In Cooperation with Rodney Farris, Robert Havener, Robert Adams

Oklahoma State University, Vegetable Research Station

Introduction:  Okra is a warm season vegetable known for its tolerance of warm summer temperatures and yield of tender seed pods used in a number of ways for cooking and canning.  It is a staple of traditional southern cooking in many forms including boiled, breaded and fried, and pickled.  As producers adopt more intense management of this traditional crop, efforts continue in breeding cultivars that will have increased yields produced in less space.  One approach to these breeding goals is to select for increased branching and flowering in a breeding line.  Field observations indicate that progress can be made in developing okra cultivars that have higher levels of both branching and fruiting.  The objective of this study was to determine if several advanced selections for increased branching and fruiting do actually branch and fruit at a higher level than their parental line. 

Methods: Five advanced okra lines selected for increased branching and fruiting were compared to the parental line of ‘Clemson Spineless’.  The study was arranged in a randomized block design with five replications.  Plots consisted of one 20 foot row of a given line with rows on 18 foot centers.  Plots were direct seeded with a research planter on 6/12/12 at the OSU Vegetable Research Station in Bixby, Oklahoma at a rate of four seeds per row foot.  Prior to planting, trifluralin herbicide was applied as a preplant incorporated application at 0.625 lbs. AI /acre.  On 6/25/12 plants in each plot were thinned to one plant per row foot and fertilized with urea (46-0-0) at a rate of 20 lbs. of nitrogen per acre.  Additional weed control for plot maintenance used hand hoeing and a layby application of trifluralin on 719/12.  Data was recorded on 9/06/12 for number of branches and fruit present and on 10/01/12 for number of fruit. 

Results and discussion:  On 9/06/12 differences were observed for fruit counts with line A-4 having significantly higher fruit counts than ‘Clemson Spineless’ or the other four advanced lines.  A-4 had 12.6 fruit per plant compared to 3.0 to 5.5, respectfully, for ‘Clemson Spineless’ and line A-1.  No differences were observed for branching on 9/06/12 and 10/01/12 or for fruiting on 10/01/12.

Although the results of this study did not conclusively prove that selecting lines for branching and fruiting is effective, it did indicate that there appears to be potential for improved fruiting through selection for that trait.

Acknowledgements:  The authors wish to thank Robert Havener, Robert Adams, and Rodney Farris for their help on this study.

 

   Table 1.  2012 okra branching and fruiting study, Bixby, OK.

Treatments

Fruiting

 Branching

9/06/12

10/01/12

9/06/12

Line A-1

5.5

bz

44.0

a

34.7

a

Line A-2

5.2

b

30.0

a

35.6

a

Line A-3

5.0

b

44.2

a

32.9

a

Line A-4

12.6

a

25.4

a

31.0

a

Line A-5

3.9

b

33.6

a

34.7

a

Clemson’s spineless

3.0

b

48.2

a

34.9

a

z Numbers in a column followed by the same letter exhibited no significant differences based on Duncan’s Multiple Range Test where P=0.05.