Influence of apical pinching on growth and seed yield attributing characters in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) 

Abstract

A field study on influence of apical pinching on growth and seed yield attributing characters in okra was conducted with three varieties viz., GO-2, Parbhani Kranti and VRO-6. The variety GO-2 had maximum days to first flowering (46.820), number of nodes per plant (6.548), number of branches per plant (2.696), fruit length (17.186 cm), number of fruits per plant (6.036) and number of seeds per fruit (40.082), whereas days to maturity (112.298) and fruit girth (1.667 cm) was maximum in VRO-6. Parbhani Kranti was early by recording minimum days to flowering (46.229). The maximum plant height (41.132 cm) and fruit length (17. 516 cm) were recorded in no pinching treatment which resulted in maximum number of nodes per plant (9.881) and number of seeds per fruit (40.600), respectively. The maximum fruit girth (1.725 cm), number of fruits per plant (6.770) and 100-seed weight (6.319 g) were recorded in pinching at 20 DAS, while maximum days to flowering (48.612) and days to maturity (114.313) were recorded in pinching at 30 DAS. Fruit length (17.516 cm) and number of seeds per fruit (40.600) was recorded maximum in no pinching treatment. The results indicated that pinching at 20 DAS had increased the seed yield contributing traits whereas, pinching at 30 DAS had delayed the crop growth.