Book Review 14
Review
Title: Okra Handbook: Global Production, Processing, and Crop Improvement
Author(s):
Editor(s): B.S. Dhankhar and Ram Singh
Publisher: HNB Publishing
ISBN 13: 9780972806183
Published: 2009
Pages: 475
Cost: $110
Rating (1-5): 4
Submitted By: Giese, James H.
Date posted: March 19, 2010
A comprehensive overview of okra physiology, biology, cultivation, breeding, post-harvest handling, and processing.
Okra is a popular vegetable crop in Africa, India, the Middle East, Greece, Turkey, the Caribbean, South America, and the southern United States. The crop is commercially grown in India, West Africa, Southeast Asia, Turkey, Brazil, northern Australia, and the southern U.S. It is an important cash crop for small and marginal farmers. Okra’s potential as an oilseed crop and its drought tolerance in a world facing global climate change underscore its growing importance. Asia, mainly India, is the largest producer of okra. It produces about 3 870 000 MT per year followed by Africa producing about 1 060 000 MT. The immature green fruit pods of okra are popular as a vegetable, while in West Africa, the leaves are also consumed as a vegetable and the stem is used for making paper.
Okra cannot tolerate low temperatures for very long and frosts can be very harmful to the plant. It is tolerant to drought but it requires considerable amounts of water for optimal growth and yield. Hence, an important chapter in the book details the production of okra using plasticulture. Plasticulture is the use of various types of plastics in agriculture, such as mulching films, row covers, high tunnels, drip irrigation, and soil solarization. Plastic films have revolutionized protective cropping leading to greater water conservation, increased temperatures, earliness, and greater yield.
This handbook, as far as I know, is the only comprehensive review available on okra. The book synthesizes the scientific information on various aspects of okra by the experts in their fields of specialization to provide in-depth information on okra. The international panel of contributors brings a broad perspective to the problems encountered in the development of this crop in different countries and should foster continued collaboration on okra research.
Part 1 contains chapters on general aspects of okra, such as origin and distribution, botany, physiology, genetic resources, improvement, production, seed production, post-harvest management, and plant protection. Part 2 contains chapters on experiences of okra cultivation in various countries such as the United States, India, Mexico, Greece, Turkey, Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt, Senegal, Brazil, and Fiji.
The final chapter of the book is on aibika, which is one of the most important leafy vegetables in a group of Pacific Island nations. Aibika leaves can be eaten raw, stewed, or steamed. Cooked aibika may be served hot with butter and lemon juice or coconut cream, or cold as salad with a dressing or miti, a Fijian preparation of coconut cream.
The book will serve as an important source of scientific information for academicians, researchers, students, development departments, seed companies, and growers, and a reference material for all regions where okra is cultivated. This will be an important publication for teaching courses on vegetable breeding and production, and will serve as a supplementary text for teaching courses on the post-harvest management and protection of the okra crop.
The book is edited by B.S. Dhankhar and Ram Singh
B.S. Dhankhar has served as Professor and Head, Dept. of Vegetable Science and Associate Dean, College of Agriculture, at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar India. He has led a research team that has developed four okra varieties, including one hybrid that is resistant to yellow vein mosaic virus. Dhankhar is a fellow of the Indian Society of Vegetable Science.
Ram Singh is a Professor of Entomology at CCS Haryana Agricultural University and has been a Visiting Scientist at Horticulture Research International in Wellesbourne, UK.