How is okra pollinated

Plant: Okra is an upright annual, 3 to 6 feet tall, with a main stem and several branches. Inflorescence: The single showy okra flower, as much as 2 inches across, resembles the cotton flower, with its wide corolla usually made up of five yellow to cream-colored petals. Pollination Requirements: The okra pollen grain is large with many pores, and every pore is a potential tube source; therefore, many tubes can develop from one pollen grain.

Pollinators: Okra is not wind pollinated. Pollination Recommendations and Practices: None. Pollination Problems: You can see flowers but have dried up without producing fruit A Self-pollinating Plant Self-pollinating plants, like okra, produce flowers that contain both male and female parts and are fertilized by their own pollen. Concerns of Cross-Pollination Cross-pollination is not a concern for vegetables of differing species; it is a concern for those of the same species.

Preventing Cross Pollination Since okra is self-pollinating, it produces a decorative bloom that attracts bees and other insects that travel from one bloom to the next, leading to cross pollination. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Published by Muthu Passionate about bringing good food on the table View more posts.

Previous Post Previous post: Okra. Next Post Next post: Compost Tea. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. In fact, we were surprised to realize just how much the squirrels enjoy okra leaves! Nevertheless, there are upwards of 30 healthy plants growing at the Conservation Center in Tucson in a neat, drip-irrigated row. A plant that can thrive in the low desert and the high desert - how stunningly cool!

Why is it in the seedbank? As with some of the other crops we conserve, okra was domesticated in the Old World. There is some debate as to where, but many credit its origin to Ethiopia or India. It likely came to the Americas via colonists and African slaves in the 17 th century. That said, the crops in the seed bank have a long agricultural history here in the Southwest and are well-adapted to our dry, hot conditions.

Saving your own seeds from okra is pretty easy compared to some other vegetables. Timing is essential when pollinating okra, though, because the plant blooms for only one day. Pollinating okra plant takes only a few seconds of time and employs common household supplies. Moisten the tip of a cotton swab with a few drops of distilled or filtered water. Although a dry swab will work, the moistened tip will help pollen adhere to the swab.

Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 4a through 11 where it is grown as a annual garden vegetable. This green, lantern-shaped vegetable is know for it slimy, sticky texture and its association with southern cooking. Okra is available in many varieties, and growing more than one in a home garden may lead to cross-pollination of seed. Self-pollinating plants, like okra, produce flowers that contain both male and female parts and are fertilized by their own pollen.

This means they do not require wind or insects to pollinate properly. Other self-pollinating garden vegetables include lettuce, peas, lima beans and bush and pole beans. Problems occur when insects bring in other types of plant pollen, such as other cultivars of okra, leading to cross-pollination.