ABSTRACT
This study was conducted at the University of Benin Teaching and Research Farm to evaluate the growth and yield responses of two okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) varieties Clemson Spineless and a local variety under different plant spacing treatments. The experiment was designed as a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments consisted of four spacing levels: 30 cm × 30 cm, 30 cm × 40 cm, 30 cm × 50 cm, and 30 cm × 60 cm. Growth parameters assessed included plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and leaf area, while yield components measured included number of flowers, number of pods, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit weight, days to 50% flowering, days to anthesis, harvest index, plant establishment, and yield per hectare.
Results indicated that at six weeks after sowing (WAS), Clemson Spineless exhibited a significantly greater plant height (41.46 cm) than the local variety (29.46 cm) (p < 0.05). However, plant spacing had no significant effect on plant height or number of leaves. Harvest index was significantly influenced by spacing, with the 30 cm × 50 cm spacing recording the highest value (1.50), whereas 30 cm × 40 cm and 30 cm × 60 cm had lower values of 0.78 and 0.87, respectively (p < 0.05). Although yield differences among spacing treatments were not statistically significant, the 30 cm × 50 cm spacing recorded the highest yield (999.2 kg/ha), followed by 30 cm × 30 cm (844.5 kg/ha), while the lowest yield (587.2 kg/ha) was obtained at 30 cm × 40 cm spacing. The local variety exhibited a slightly higher yield (830.3 kg/ha) compared to Clemson Spineless (732.4 kg/ha), though the difference was not statistically significant. From these results, it was concluded that variety selection significantly influenced plant height, whereas spacing plays a role in determining the harvest index. However, most vegetative and reproductive traits remained unaffected by spacing variations.
