International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 73-79 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 73 Research Report Open Access Performance Evaluation of Different Varieties of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) in Pyuthan District, Nepal Unish Nepali 1,2 , Swekxya Pathak1, Susmita Adhikari 1, Raju Khatri 1, Sushmita Adhikari 1, Pradip Baniya1 1 College of Natural Resources Management, Bardibas, 45701, Nepal 2 Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, 44209, Nepal Corresponding author: unish.nepali123@gmail.com International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.2 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0008 Received: 23 Jun., 2024 Accepted: 10 Mar., 2025 Published: 12 Apr., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Nepali et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Nepali U., Pathak S., Adhikari S., Khatri R., Adhikari S., and Baniya P., 2025, Performance evaluation of different varieties of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) in Pyuthan District, Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 15(2): 73-79 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0008) Abstract Yield analysis is an effective way to understand the overall performance of the different varieties of okra. For this, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of different varieties of okra in the Pyuthan district within the vegetable zone of PMAMP Pyuthan from 29 March to 15 July 2023. An experiment was conducted during the summer season under open field conditions to assess the varietal performance of different okra genotypes. The experimental plot was laid out in a single factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. The experiment comprised five treatments, i.e., Arka Anamika, Rukmani, Raja F1, Special-45, and Arzine hybrid). To evaluate the performance of different varieties, morphological parameter, and yield parameter data were collected at separate time intervals, and further analysis was done using GenStat software. The experiment illustrates that the average mean yield of the five varieties was 65.75 g per plant. Overall, it was further revealed that the Rukmani varieties give the highest average yield (79.50 g), followed by Arka Anamika (76.25 g). The lowest yield was recorded in Raja F1 and Special-45 (52 g). Similarly, other parameters were also analyzed simultaneously to check the yield attributing factor, which revealed that plant average maximum height was observed in Rukmani (29.44 cm) at all growth stages, followed by Arzine (27.59 cm), Arka Anamika (26.21 cm), Special-45 (22.28 cm), and Raja F1 (20.74 cm). Moreover, the number of primary branches was highest in Arzine (3) followed by Rukmani (2), Special-45(2), and Arka Anamika (2). Furthermore, the number of pods per plant was most significant in the Rukmani variety (6) and Arka Anamika (6). The study showed that the Arka Anamika was found in pod diameter (5.83 cm) among the other four varieties where the maximum pod length was recorded in the Rukmani variety (14.08 cm) followed by Arka Anamika. The pod weight was highest in Rukmani (14.50 g) and Arzine (14.50 g). Data revealed from the experiment showed that the Rukmani variety gave more yield per plant,and showed higher pod weight, pod per plant which are slight differences from Arka Anamika. From the field research, it can be concluded that Rukmani and Arka Anamika is a good varieties in terms of yield performance and more economical to the farmers who have growing okra in Pyuthan, Nepal. Keywords Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.); Rukmani; Morphological parameters; Yield performance; Pyuthan district 1 Introduction Agriculture is the Nepalese economy's major sector, contributing 23.95% to the national GDP (Mehata et al., 2023; Ibitoye and Kolawole, 2022). Approximately 66% of the population is involved in agriculture for their livelihood (FAO, 2022). The total cultivated agricultural land in the present context is 3,091,000 ha, and the total uncultivated agricultural land is 1,030,000 ha, representing 21% and 7% of the total land area of Nepal, respectively (MoALD, 2021; NARC, 2012). Due to the availability of diverse agroecologies, Nepal has great potential to grow a variety of commodities within different geographical locations. Nepalese agriculture is dominated by cereal crops, mainly rice, with low productivity, i.e., 3.5 t/ha. Even though vegetables are cultivated in 289,834 ha out of the total cultivated land (MoALD, 2021), they have higher productivity than cereal crops, i.e., 14.5 t/ha. Okra is an important vegetable crop in the tropical and subtropical regions (Parajuli, 2015). The crop is cultivated for its young, tender fruits, which are used in curry and soups after cooking. It is a good source of vitamins A and B, protein, and minerals (Yadav et al., 2024). It is also an excellent source of iodine and is useful for the treatment of goiter. Fruits are also dried or frozen for use during off-season. The top 10 producers of okra in the world
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