BHUBANESWAR: In some good news for vegetable farmers and researchers, a scientist from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the state has discovered a new plant species of ‘wild okra’ that can be used for hybridisation to create a better variety having high disease resistance.
It can also play a vital role in widening the genetic base of okra. Principal scientist of ICAR-National Bureau Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) Regional Station in Cuttack Ramesh Chandra Mishra has discovered a new plant species of the wild okra from a moist deciduous forest of Bansapal block in Keonjhar district. For the first time a new plant species of ‘wild okra’ has been discovered anywhere in the country, Mishra told The New Indian Express.
He said till now 13 different species of wild okra have been discovered of which two are being harvested for consumption. The new species is the 14th variety of the plant species and has been named ‘Abelmoschus Odishae’ after the state from where the type specimens were originally collected.
“The plant species is a perennial shrub up to 5 metre high with densely hispid prickly stem with retrorse hairs, large deep yellow flowers with around 8 (7-9) lanceolate epicalyx, ovoid to oblong bristly capsules, sub-reniform seeds with short, stout and non-spiral trichomes. The species also has a seeds viability of 95 per cent,” Mishra said.
The scientist said after its discovery in 2019, the original herbarium specimens of the plant were deposited at the National Herbarium of Crop Plants, ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi and Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah for reference.