IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 13, Issue 4 Ser. III (April 2020), PP 45-49 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/2380-1304034549 www.iosrjournals.org 45 | Page Morphological traits of exotic and local okra cultivars in piedmont soil Md. Rayhan Aahmed Shawon 1 , A.F.M. Saiful Islam 1 , Sharifunnessa Moonmoon 1* 1 Department of Crop Botany and Tea Production Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh * Corresponding Author: Sharifunnessa Moonmoon, Abstract Background Soil acidity is a severe worldwide environmental problem that adversely affects soil properties and the crop growth such as okra.An experiment was conducted in the field laboratory of Department of Crop Botany and Tea Production Technology of Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet from March to October 2014 with a view to selecting the superior okra cultivar in relation to growth characters in acidic soil conditions. Materials And Methods: The experiment was laidout in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. A total of 11 cultivars (treatments) viz. BARI Dherosh-1 (control), JO-1, JO- 2, JO-3, JO-4, Orka Onamika, Bankim, Durga, Indian, China and Thai were evaluated on the basis of growth parameters. Results: Significant variations wereobserved in all the parameters. The cultivar JO-1 cultivar showed superiority in germination capacity. Results revealed that high yielding cultivar BARI Dherosh-1 was taller at final harvest. JO-3 produced higher number of branches plant -1 . Conclusion: Based on overall performance in morphological comparatively JO-3 proved to be promising cultivar in acid soil conditions of Sylhet. Key Word:Morphological traits, okra cultivar, piedmont soil --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 01-05-2020 Date of Acceptance: 14-05-2020 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Okra is an annual plant, mainly propagated by seeds and has duration of 90-100 days to attain maturity.Okra, also known as "lady's finger" or "bamia" is one of the popular nutritious vegetables of North-East African origin that belongs to the Malvaceae (mallows) family, and named scientifically as Abelmoschus esculentus. The pods are usually consumed when they are green, tender, and at immature stage. The plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions around the world. In Bangladesh, Okra is one of the most important and popular vegetables in summer season, even also used as salads, soups and stews, fresh or dried, fried or boiled [1], [2] . Okra is a popular nutritious vegetable as it contain vitamin A, and flavonoid anti- oxidants such as beta-carotene, xanthin and lutein. In Bangladesh, vegetable production is not uniform round the year and per capita consumption is much lower than standard requirement. It is cultivated throughout Bangladesh but its average national yield is poor. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) the total production of Okra was about 43000 metric tons produced from 26000 acres of land and the average yield of Okra was 4.1t ha -1 in the year 2010-2011 [3]. Sylhet is one of the special AEZs of Bangladesh due to its typical soil characters, as pH of the soil ranges from 4.5-6.5. Production of most of the crops and vegetables are limited here, due to the acidic soil condition. Moreover,adverse climatic conditions such as heavy rainfall, high humidity, seasonal flooding, fog etc. are the other barriers for the vegetable production. Acid soils possess high concentration of Al 3+ , Fe 3+ , Mn 2+ , deficient in P, B and Mo and low availability of bases which together causes reduction in crop yield. Acid soils, especially the Ultisols and Oxisols usually have problems associated with aluminum toxicity, low nutrient status, nutrients imbalance and multiple nutrient deficiencies [4] . Total cultivable land in Sylhet is 1235336 ha. In Sylhet Division Okra is only cultivated in 880 ha of land of which 272 ha belongs to Sylhet District. The total production of Okra in Sylhet District is only about 1904 metric tons [5]. Low production area and lack of suitable variety has resulted in poor production of okra in the region. The