Publisher's Synopsis
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L) is commonly known as bhindi orlady's finger belonging to family Malvaceae. It is an important fruitvegetable crop cultivated in various states of India. Several species of thegenus Abelmoschus are grown in many parts of the world among themAbelmoschus esculentus is most commonly cultivated in Asia and has agreat commercial demand due to its nutritional values.The genus Abelmoschus was established by Medikus in 1787.However most authors followed deCandolle (1883) and treated it as asection of Hibiscus. It was Hochreutiner in 1924, who reinstated the genusAbelmoschus of Medikus, stating that calyx, corolla and stamens arefused together at the base and fall as one piece after anthesis whereas incase of Hibiscus these are distinct. Though the genus is of Asiatic origin, the origin of cultigen A. esculentus has been reported to be variable fromIndia; Ethiopia, West Africa and Tropical Asia. However, Zeven andZhukovasky, 1975 believed it to have originated from India. This view isstrengthened from the Sanskrit words, Tindisha and Gandhmula found todesignate Bhindi. Thus it is likely that the cultigen might have originated inAsia or it might originally have been present in Africa and India as apolyphyletic species. Again there is not much evidence available to showas to when and how cultivated Bhindi got introduced in India. There is nomention in 'Ain-e-Akbari' or any other archeological records. This showsthat it does not have a long history of cultivation in this country. Probably itreached India by the end of 19th century
