Pusa Sawani
The classic IARI open-pollinated okra, still widely grown for its dark green, five-ridged, 10–12 cm pods and wide adaptability across the summer and rainy seasons. It has largely lost its original yellow vein mosaic virus resistance, so it now needs strong whitefly control.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Bhindi (Okra)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- First pick ~50 days
- Seed rate
- 8 kg per hectare as an open-pollinated variety — seed you can keep from your own crop
- Expected yield
- 10–15 t/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Originally YVMV-resistant; resistance has broken down in most areas
- 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 Sawani is an old, once-dominant okra variety from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. It set the standard for a smooth, dark green, five-ridged pod about 10–12 cm long at the marketable stage, and it grows across the spring–summer and rainy seasons in most of the country, reaching the first pick in about fifty days. It was released as resistant to yellow vein mosaic virus, but that resistance has broken down across most okra-growing areas over the decades, so a crop of Pusa Sawani now depends heavily on early and sustained whitefly control to keep the virus out.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Pusa Sawani only if you can run a proper whitefly programme, or if a buyer specifically asks for this pod type. This classic ICAR-IARI variety grows across the country in both the summer and rainy seasons, with smooth, dark green, five-ridged 10–12 cm pods the market knows well, first pick at about 50 days and 10–15 t/ha, and open-pollinated seed you can save. The problem is real: it was released as resistant to yellow vein mosaic, but that resistance has broken down in most okra areas, so the crop now depends on early, sustained whitefly control. Arka Anamika, Kashi Kranti or Parbhani Kranti are the safer default today.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJune–August and February
- Seed rate8 kg per hectare as an open-pollinated variety — seed you can keep from your own crop
- Spacing45 x 30 cm
- Sowing methodTreat the seed with Trichoderma viride at 4 g/kg, then Azospirillum with starch as the sticker, and shade-dry 20 minutes. Sow three seeds per hill, thin to two at 10 days
- IrrigationWeekly irrigation after germination
- FertilizerBasal 25 t/ha farmyard manure plus 20:50:30 kg NPK per hectare, with 20 kg N/ha at 30 days after sowing (Tamil Nadu guide)
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Wide adaptability across the summer and rainy seasons and most of the country
- Smooth, dark green, five-ridged pods that the market knows well
- Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved
Things to consider
- Its original yellow vein mosaic virus resistance has broken down in most areas — not a safe choice where whitefly and virus pressure is high without a proper spray programme
- Newer YVMV-resistant varieties (Arka Anamika, Kashi Kranti, Parbhani Kranti) are a safer default now
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Bihar
- Madhya Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
- West Bengal
With the resistance gone, whitefly control is the whole job
Pusa Sawani is the classic IARI okra and still widely grown for its pod type and wide adaptability, but its original yellow vein mosaic resistance has broken down in most areas. That means the virus is now your problem to manage, and the virus arrives on the whitefly.
Sow where whitefly pressure is low, not next to an old infested okra or cotton field. Watch leaf undersides from the seedling stage, and pull out and remove plants showing the yellow vein network early rather than leaving them as a source for the rest of the field. Keep bunds and the field free of weed hosts, and ask your KVK which sprays are cleared, rotating groups so whitefly does not get used to one. If virus has hit your crop in the last two seasons, a currently resistant variety — Kashi Kranti, Arka Anamika or Arka Abhay — will cost you less than fighting it on this one.
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-4 | 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 Sawanithis page | 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
Why did Pusa Sawani lose its virus resistance?
Because it was grown so widely for so long that the virus and its whitefly carrier had decades to adapt, and newer strains now infect it. The same thing happens to any single variety planted everywhere, which is why mixing varieties across your plots is worth doing.
If I already have Pusa Sawani seed, how do I protect the crop?
Start before the virus does: treat the seed, keep the nursery and field free of weed hosts, control whitefly from the seedling stage rather than after symptoms, and pull out and remove yellow-veined plants as soon as you see them so they stop feeding the spread.
Is there any reason to still choose Pusa Sawani?
Two: traders in some markets know and ask for its exact pod type, and the seed is open-pollinated and cheap because you can save it. If neither applies to you, a resistant variety will make you more money with less spraying.
When should I sow Pusa Sawani, and at what spacing?
June–August or February, at 45 x 30 cm, with weekly irrigation after germination. Since its virus resistance has broken down in most areas, the February crop is often the safer one, because whitefly numbers are usually lower early in the year.
What yield does Pusa Sawani give now?
10–15 t/ha, below Kashi Kranti and Arka Abhay at 15–18 t/ha. The gap is mostly the virus: those two still carry working yellow vein mosaic resistance, and Pusa Sawani does not. On land where the virus is active, plan on the lower end.
Sourced from: Crop Production Guide (Horticulture), TNAU and Department of Horticulture, Tamil Nadu: bhendi seed rate, seed treatment, spacing, season, irrigation and fertiliser. editorial policy.