Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 April 2017
Artificial defoliation of okra 4, 6 and 8 weeks after sowing generally delayed flowering, decreased plant height and stem girth at flowering and reduced the harvest duration. Pod length, pod diameter, mean pod weight and number of pods plant−1 were also decreased by defoliation but pod yield ha−1 was not.
The removal of leaves from the upper half of the stem only had a similar effect to complete defoliation whereas the removal of leaves from the lower half only had no significant effect, indicating that the leaves on the upper stem contributed more to growth and yield than those lower down. Significant time × degree of defoliation interactions occurred for most growth and yield parameters.