It seems that okra is one one of those crops with a lot of genetic breadth in most varieties' gene pools. Even if you aren't trying for adaptation to short season, it pays to select and save seed. George and Mary Stewart selected for multi-branching, coming with Stewart's Zeebest, which is my favorite variety. Ron Cook (neighbor of mine) did this with Clemson Spineless and arrived at Heavy Hitter.
For over a decade I simply saved seed of Stewart's Zeebest. The resulting strain was okay. But when I started following Ron Cook's example, and selecting my seed plants, wow!, they really shaped up fast! I know, someone will be thinking, "Well, duh! But I simply hadn't tried doing this with okra and it has been really great to see how malleable the plant is.
I think there is probably room for MANY people to work with okra, selecting for the traits they really like. Joseph is setting good example.
George
Tahlequah, OK
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