Okra production with pine straw mulch

Conventional planted okra in Booneville, Arkansas and Lorman, Mississippi were mulched with loblolly pine straw (Pinus taeda L.) and longleaf pine straw (P. palustris Mill.), respectively, at a rate of 11 t/ha or left bare. At Booneville, plant stand, season yields (18.6 t/ha), pod weight (16.3 g), plant dry weight (2.3 kg), or stem diameter (3.5 cm) were not affected by the loblolly pine mulch. However, mulch application increased pod number (1.22 vs. 1.06×10⁶/ha) and plant height (1.5 vs. 1.6 m), while reducing weed competition (0.05 vs. 0.40 t/ha) and visible plant stress, during periods of soil moisture deficits. Soil temperatures at 5 and 15 cm depth were reduced by mulch until mid-August when plant canopies covered the rows. Seasonal moisture at 30 and 45 cm depths was similar between mulched and bare soils, based upon unreplicated neutron probe measurements. At Lorman, season okra yield (29.8 vs. 24.6 t/ha), number of pods per ha (1.24 vs. 1.07×10⁶) and weed competition were reduced and soil pH lowered 0.56 units by longleaf pine straw mulch. Mulch reduced early season yield at both locations.