Organic okro (Abelmoschus esculentus): its growth, yield and organoleptic properties

Okro (Abelmoschus esculentus) was grown in the field and green house and fertilized with organic-based fertilizer (OBF), organic and chemical fertilizers. Okro soups produced from the okro fruits harvested from the various fertilizers treatments were subjected to sensory evaluation tests. Application of varying rates of organic fertilizers on the greenhouse okro plants showed that 10 tonnes per hectare of organic fertilizer led to significant increases in microbial activities in the root zone and it also gave the highest pod yield. In the sensory evaluation test of organically grown okro, panelists preferred organically grown okro soup to the chemically grown variant when they assessed the colour, taste, texture, flavour and drawness. Organically grown okro enjoyed more acceptability than tthe chemically grown. In the field trial,no significant effects of all the treatments were found on some growth parameters assessed. However, application of 5t ha of OBF led to significant increases in the number of okro pods.