Study on Quality of Okra ( Abelmoschus esculentus L.) Seed Collected from Different Sources and Locations of Bangladesh

A study was conducted at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during September 2009 to March 2010 to determine the quality and health status of okra seed collected from different sources and locations of Bangladesh. Different sources were government organization, namely BARI, Gazipur and BADC, Dhaka, eight seed companies and ten farmers of different districts. Seed collection and quality analysis exposed that moisture content of seed samples ranged from 8.37-14.95% and 9.97-13.71% in terms of source and group of seed collection. Germination percentage of government organization seeds, seed companie’s seeds and farmers saved seeds was 86.52, 82.71 and 53.74%, respectively. Purity percentage varied from 87.86 to 99.70% in different sources. Purity percentage of government organization seeds, seed company’s seeds and farmers saved seeds were 94.57%, 99.41% and 92.45%, respectively. In government organization seeds, both vigor index (2273.0) and 1000-seed weight (59.59g) were found higher than the Seed companies and farmers saved seeds. In seed health study, seven fungi, namely Fusarium spp., Colletotrichum dematium , Aspergillus flavus , A. niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Bipolaris spp., and Curvularia spp. were found in the seed samples. The highest mean incidence of fungi in okra seeds was recorded from farmer seeds (16.31%) followed by seed companies (13.33%) and the lowest from government organizations (11.81%).