Pusa A-4
An IARI open-pollinated variety with dark green, five-ridged, 12–15 cm pods that resist toughening, and field tolerance to yellow vein mosaic virus and shoot and fruit borer.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Bhindi (Okra)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- First pick ~45 days
- Seed rate
- 8 kg per hectare for an open-pollinated variety
- Expected yield
- 13–16 t/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Tolerant to YVMV; some field tolerance to shoot and fruit borer
- Release
- Released by ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Pusa A-4 is an open-pollinated okra from ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, valued for long, dark green, five-ridged pods (12–15 cm) that stay tender and resist toughening on the plant. It carries field tolerance to yellow vein mosaic virus and, unusually, some field tolerance to the shoot and fruit borer, which lightens the spray load a little. It suits the summer and early rainy-season crop in the northern plains and reaches the first pick early at about 45 days.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Pusa A-4 if you grow summer or early rainy-season okra in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan or Delhi and want long pods that do not toughen on the plant: 12–15 cm, dark green, five-ridged, with the first pick at about 45 days and 13–16 t/ha. Its unusual advantage is field tolerance to both yellow vein mosaic and the shoot and fruit borer, which lightens the spray load a little. Note that both are field tolerance, not full resistance, so a spray programme is still needed under heavy pressure. Choose Hisar Unnat for the hottest north-west summer, Kashi Kranti for the eastern plains, Arka Abhay where leaf curl is present.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJune–August and February
- Seed rate8 kg per hectare for an open-pollinated variety
- SpacingRidges and furrows 45 cm apart with hills every 30 cm
- Sowing methodSow three seeds per hill and thin to two plants after 10 days. Under drip, the paired row layout is 90 x 45 x 45 cm on beds 120 cm wide
- IrrigationIrrigate weekly after germination
- Fertilizer25 t/ha farmyard manure with 20 kg N, 50 kg P and 30 kg K per hectare basal, and 20 kg N/ha at 30 days (Tamil Nadu guide)
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Long (12–15 cm), tender pods that resist toughening on the plant
- Field tolerance to both YVMV and shoot and fruit borer — a lighter spray load
- Early, with the first pick at about 45 days
Things to consider
- The tolerance is field-level, not full resistance — a spray programme is still needed under heavy pressure
- Best in the northern-plains summer and early rainy-season crop
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Rajasthan
- Delhi
A lighter spray load: what that actually means
Pusa A-4 tolerates yellow vein mosaic virus and shows some field tolerance to shoot and fruit borer. Two kinds of pressure handled by the variety means fewer sprays in an ordinary season, and that is money and labour saved — not a season without checking the crop.
Field tolerance to borer means less damage, not none. Keep clipping the drooping shoot tips and picking out pods with a bore hole and frass, carry them out of the field, and pick on time so eggs are not sitting on over-mature pods. For the virus side, keep whitefly down and keep weed hosts off the bunds. Its pods are 12–15 cm, five-ridged, and resist toughening, so they hold their quality a little longer between pickings — useful when you cannot get into the field every single day.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Bhindi (Okra) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arka Abhay | Fields hit by leaf curl as well as yellow vein mosaic | First pick ~50–55 days | 15–18 t/ha | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu |
| Arka Anamika | Rainy-season okra with spineless, long-tender pods | First pick ~55 days | 12–18 t/ha | Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha |
| Hisar Unnat (HRB-108) | The hot, dry north-west summer crop | First pick ~50 days | 12–15 t/ha | Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh |
| Kashi Kranti (VRO-22) | Early, glossy straight pods across the eastern and central plains | First pick ~45–50 days | 15–18 t/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal |
| Kashi Pragati (VRO-6) | A tall, early, virus-resistant okra with 20–25 dark green pods per plant, from ICAR-IIVR | First pick in 44–46 days | Average 16 t/ha, potential 18 t/ha | Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh |
| Parbhani Kranti | A long-proven rainy-season okra for Maharashtra and nearby states | First pick ~55 days | 9–12 t/ha | Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana |
| Pusa A-4this page | Long tender pods with a lighter spray load in the northern plains | First pick ~45 days | 13–16 t/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi |
| Pusa Sawani | A familiar pod type, only where whitefly is under firm control | First pick ~50 days | 10–15 t/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Bhindi (Okra) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Bhindi (Okra) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Bhindi (Okra) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Bhindi (Okra) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Bhindi (Okra) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Bhindi (Okra) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Bhindi (Okra) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
How much spraying does Pusa A-4 actually save?
Some, not all. Field tolerance to borer and YVMV means lower pressure, so you may skip a round in a mild season. Under heavy whitefly or borer pressure you still need the full programme, and scouting every few days is what tells you which it is.
Why do pods that resist toughening matter?
If you cannot pick on the exact day — labour short, rain, a missed market trip — a normal variety's pods go fibrous and get rejected. Pusa A-4 pods stay tender a little longer, which turns a missed picking day into a smaller loss.
Does Pusa A-4 suit the main rainy-season crop?
It is best in the summer and early rainy-season crop of the northern plains. For the full monsoon crop, where virus pressure peaks, a fully resistant variety such as Kashi Kranti or Arka Anamika is the safer pick, and Arka Abhay if leaf curl is also around.
How much Pusa A-4 seed do I need, and how should I lay out the field?
8 kg per hectare for an open-pollinated variety, on ridges and furrows 45 cm apart with hills every 30 cm, and weekly irrigation after germination. Sowing on the ridge rather than in the furrow keeps the stem out of the water in a June–August crop.
What yield does Pusa A-4 give, and when is the first pick?
13–16 t/ha, with the first pick around 45 days, among the earliest here. With YVMV tolerance and some field tolerance to shoot and fruit borer, the spray load is lighter than on an older variety, which matters most in the first few weeks of picking.
Sourced from: Crop Production Guide (Horticulture), TNAU and Department of Horticulture, Tamil Nadu: bhendi seed rate, spacing, drip layout, season, irrigation and fertiliser. editorial policy.