Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench

Erect, annual herb, 0.5-2.5 cm tall. Stem often tinged red, sparsely, simple, stiff hairy, somewhat rough. Leaves 5-30 cm long and broad, broadly ovate to orbicular, cordate at base, 5-7-nerved, simple and stiff hairy on both sides, glabrescent, angular or 3-7-lobed or parted; lobes ovate to lanceolate or oblong, coarsely serrate to crenate; stipules filiform, 5-10 mm long; petiole 5-35 cm long. Flowers axillary, solitary; pedicel 0.5-1.5 cm long, in fruit up to 5 cm. Epicalyx segments 7-12, 5-25 mm long, 1-2.5 mm broad, linear to lanceolate, caducous. Calyx 2-3 cm long. Corolla yellow or yellowish white with a purple spot at the base; petals 3-4.5 cm long and broad. Staminal column 2-2.5 cm long. Capsule 7-25 cm long, 1.5-3 cm across, cylindrical, 5-angled, acuminate, simple hairy, hirsute when young, glabrescent. Seeds 5-15 in each cell, 3-6 mm across, reniform or ovoid, dark brown, glabrous.

  Hibiscus esculentus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 696. 1753; H. longifolius Willdenow.

A member of the hibiscus family, okra is an annual (a plant that germinates, grows and dies in a single season or year) that can grow from 3 to 8 feet tall, depending on the cultivar. The plant is a rather coarse annual with large lobed, slightly spiny leaves and a thick, semi-woody stem with few branches. The flowers are showy: hibiscus-like with pale yellow or cream colored petals and purplish hearts. Okra blooms and produces over an extended season, usually until first frost, bearing yellow flowers that give rise to the familiar okra pods so valued in Cajun gumbos.

Okra is native to the Old World tropics - probably West Africa - and has become established in the wild in some New World tropical areas. It is generally believed that okra first reached the New World during the days of slave trafficking. Okra is a popular and important food in Third World tropical countries. It is widely used in India, Africa and the Middle East, but almost unknown in Europe and northern North America.

Abstract:

The objective of the study was to assess the growth contributing characters of biofield treated bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) seeds. The seeds of both crops were divided into two groups, one was kept aside and denoted as untreated, while the other group was subjected biofield energy treatment. The variabilities in growth contributing parameters were studied and compared with their control. Further the level of glutathione (GSH) in okra leaves, along with DNA fingerprinting in bottle gourd were analyzed using RAPD method. After germination, the plants of bottle gourd were reported to be strong and erect with better canopy as compared with the control. The vegetative growth of okra plants after biofield energy treatment was found to be stout with small canopy, strong steam, and more fruits per nodes, that contributed high yield as compared with the control. However, endogenous level of GSH in the leaves of okra was increased by 47.65% as compared to the untreated group, which may suggest an improved immunity of okra crops. Besides, the DNA fingerprinting data, showed polymorphism (42%) between treated and untreated samples of bottle gourd. The overall results suggest that the biofield energy treatment on bottle gourd and okra seeds, results an improved overall growth of plant and yield, which may enhance flowering and fruiting per plant. Study results conclude that the biofield energy treatment could be an alternate method to improve the crop yield in agricultural science.