Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Toxicity —
Okra is a common and popular vegetable with no known toxicity report. Both okra
tofu and the protein-rich residue left after oil extraction showed no acute toxicity and offer promise
as food additives and animal feed ingredients. The seeds in the mature fruits yield oil that is similar
to cottonseed oil, and some varieties are said to contain gossypol or a gossypol-like compound. In
some okra seed varieties, the oil contains small quantities of cyclopropenoid fatty acids with their
strong physiological properties.
Formulation and Dosage Forms —
Okra is usually available in food stores and health food
outlets as fresh fruits or as frozen materials. Sun-dried and horizontally or vertically sliced fruits
are often sold in West African markets. Freeze-dried, microwave-dried, and controlled temperature
backed fruits prepared with the aim of preserving the secondary metabolites have been packaged
for the dietary supplement industry.
Commerce —
Okra is grown throughout the world as an article of commerce. Countries in Asia
and Africa are the major producers. World production of okra as a fresh fruit-vegetable is estimated
at 6 million tons/year. Common okra makes up 95% of this amount, and the West African species
accounts for about 10% of world production. In West and Central Africa, the common okra and its
local variety share the market equally.
Agriculture —
Farmers usually use seeds harvested from their own local cultivar or rather
heterogeneous landrace. The easiest way to keep the seed is to leave it in the pods. Seed weight
varies from 30 to 80 g/1000 seeds. To soften the hard seed coat, the seed is often soaked in water
or chemicals prior to sowing. The seed is usually dribbled directly in the field (1-3 seeds per hole).
Optimum plant densities are in the range of 50,000-150,000 plants/ha. Emergence is within 1 week.
When the plants are about 10 cm tall, they are thinned to one plant per hole.
Germination and initial growth are improved greatly by cultural practices that lower soil tem-
perature (e.g., mulching, watering before the hottest part of the day, and sowing on ridge sides
least exposed to direct sunlight). The robust West African okra should be grown at 20,000-50,000
plants/ha. Emergence is also within 1 week, and the plants are then thinned to one plant per hole
for optimum growth.
Commercial okra growers usually practice sole cropping and prefer the early, homogeneous,
introduced cultivars of common okra (
Abelmoschus esculentus
). In traditional agriculture, farmers
grow their okra landraces in home gardens or in fields with other food crops. The landraces often
consist of a mixture of
Abelmoschus caillei
and
Abelmoschus esculentus
, the former being pre-
dominant in humid climates and the latter in drier climates. The uptake of minerals is rather high.
Indicative figures for total nutrient uptake per hectare of a crop with fruit yield of about 10 t/ha are
100 kg N, 10 kg P, 60 kg K, 80 kg Ca, and 40 kg Mg. Under humid tropical conditions, a full-grown
crop consumes about 8 mm of water per day. Some farmers practice ratoon cropping. A ratoon crop
flowers soon after cutting but usually results in poor-quality fruit with a high percentage of bent
fruits.
1
Organic cultivation of okra in north central Nigeria yielded good fruits comparable in both
composition and biomass with plants grown with chemical fertilizer .
ABRUS PRECATORIUS
Botanical Name —
Abrus precatorius
Linn.
Synonyms —
Abrus abrus
(L.) Wright,
Abrus cyaneus
R. Vig.,
Abrus maculatus
Noronha,
Abrus minor
D esv.,
Abrus pauciflorus
D esv.,
Abrus squamulosus
E. Mey.,
Abrus tunguensis
Lima,
Glycine abrus
L.
Family —
Leguminosae
Common Names —
Crab's eye, love bean, lucky bean, prayer beads, wild licorice
African Names —
Ewe: dedekuade, adekude; Hausa: da marzaya, idon Zakara; Chagga: mdela;
Giriam: Igbo: anya nnunu; Lozi: mutiti; Luvale: mukakenjenge; Ndebele: amabope; Nyamwezi:
