Health conscious individualshave started to include okra in their diet due to its high fiber content, plus, it also contains essential vitamins like B and C, potassium, folic acid, and calcium.
Even its seeds are edible. In fact, a local farmer at a remote barangay in the province of Quezon is already processing okra seeds into coffee.
Since it can supply our requirements for dietary fiber, okra is said to help prevent constipation and keeps waste moving efficiently throughout our digestive tract.
Among the methods that is becoming popular with the health-conscious is drinking “okra water” where several okra pods are soaked overnight in water, which was reported to help alleviate the symptoms of diabetes.
While more people are becoming aware of the health benefits of okra, or known in other countries as “lady’s finger,” it would be nice if we could cultivate the crop in our backyard gardens or even in our farms.
After all, okra is one of the easiest crops to cultivate, according to Allied Botanical Corporation (ABC) Region 4-B regional sales manager Rudy Dean.
To produce better pods, Dean says that the use of Condor quality seeds is suggested, the Camiling smooth variety in particular.
He says the variety is “flawless,” meaning the pods will have no hairy spines and can be grown all year-round.
Aside from being prolific, he says, the variety has a long productive life, the plants are vigorous, and have a very good tolerance to different pests and diseases.
This story is from the September 2018 edition of Agriculture.
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This story is from the September 2018 edition of Agriculture.
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