Dr. Phyto

okra (lady's finger)

Abelmoschus esculentus

Diseases & pests on this plant

• silverleaf whiteflyBemisia tabaci

  Tiny white moth-like adults flying up from disturbed leaves, sticky honeydew on lower leaves and fruit, sooty mould secondary growth, silvering between veins on cucurbits, irregular ripening on tomato/pepper.

• cotton aphidAphis gossypii

  Yellow-green aphids clustering on shoot tips.

• Okra powdery mildew (endophytic, Mediterranean)Leveillula taurica

  The first visible sign is pale yellow to bright chlorotic blotches on the UPPER surface of older, lower leaves, which growers often mistake for a nutrient problem. Turn the leaf over and you find a sparse-to-dense white-to-greyish powdery felt of spores on the UNDERSIDE, directly beneath those yellow patches (because the fungus grows inside the leaf). As it spreads the yellow areas turn tan or brown and become necrotic, the leaf margins curl, and badly affected leaves dry up and drop, exposing pods to sunscald. Disease is worst in hot, dry Mediterranean summers and moves upward from the oldest leaves.

• olive Verticillium wiltVerticillium dahliae

  Half a tree wilting in summer while the other half stays green, blackish discoloration in cross-section of affected wood, partial recovery in winter then relapse, dieback over 2–4 seasons.

• two-spotted spider miteTetranychus urticae

  Yellow stippling on upper leaf surface, fine webbing.