The Ultimate stress test:
Virus-resistant okra triumphs in India’s trial by fire
– 17 October 2025 –
Okra field. Photo by Sorawit Limsiriwat
The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) put more than a thousand different kinds of okra to the test recently, in one of South Asia’s toughest begomovirus battlegrounds.
The Okra Field Day, held in partnership with Indian seed company Noble Seeds under the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium, presented more than 350 breeding lines and 900 hybrids to over 100 participants from 47 seed companies from India, Japan, and Sri Lanka.
Participants from across disciplines – including breeders, pathologists, R&D specialists, and sales and marketing managers – inspected the trial plots in Sonepat, Haryana State, in Northern India – an area notorious for its heavy infestations of whitefly-transmitted yellow vein mosaic virus (YVMV) and enation leaf curl virus (ELCV). These two begomoviruses regularly devastate okra crops across South Asia, making the demonstration an agricultural trial by fire.
“This was the ultimate stress test,” said Dr. Narinder Dhillon, WorldVeg Principal Plant Breeder for okra. “We chose Sonepat precisely because it is a major hotspot – it’s the lion’s den of begomoviruses. Any line that holds up there holds great promise.”
Among the 358 breeding lines and 907 F1 hybrids, 123 lines and 235 hybrids showed clear resistance to both viruses – evidence that years of targeted breeding are paying off. “This assures APSA members that we’re not just claiming resistance – we’ve proven it under the toughest conditions in India’s toughest fields,” continued Dhillon.
Putting resistance to the ultimate test
Across India and much of South Asia, okra farmers face a constant battle with begomoviruses, which turn leaves yellow and inhibit development of the plants’ edible pods. It’s a serious problem for India’s okra seed industry, which is one of the largest in the world, producing over 3,000 tonnes of hybrid seed each year, worth around US$122 million. Yet during severe virus outbreaks, farmers can lose anywhere from 30% of their harvest to entire fields, making disease resistance the top breeding priority.
The WorldVeg okra breeding team in Thailand has spent eight years developing and refining disease-resistant lines, led by Supornpun Srimat and Suwannee Laenoi (Assistant Specialist – Plant breeding), with Technical Assistants Suyuporn Lertlam and Witichai Taklom.
The key challenge was that most commercial hybrids come from a narrow genetic base, which limits progress and leaves the crop more vulnerable to disease. To fix that, the WorldVeg team sorted hundreds of the organization’s okra breeding lines by how they grow and look – selecting for their vigor, branching, fruit color, and fruit shape – and by how well they resisted the whitefly-transmitted viruses.
Then, a crossing plan was developed to produce hybrids, which were tested in multiple locations to find those that combine lasting resistance with good fruit quality, attractive appearance, early yield, and a long harvest period is the final step. The fruits of that work were quite literally on display during the field day in Sonepat: Rows of healthy, green plants contrasted sharply with nearby checks with leaves twisted and yellowed by infection.
The event was the first in a series of trials at five major virus hotspots in India – with those in Surat, Villupuram, Gantur and Twenty-Four Parganas following in 2026 as part of the two-year APSA-WorldVeg project, Developing New Markets With Better Okra Genetics. Funded by participating seed companies and coordinated through APSA, the project provides members with early-bird access to elite WorldVeg breeding lines that combine virus resistance with improved horticultural traits, as well as data and technical guidance. It aims to bridge the gap between pre-breeding research and market-ready hybrids.
“Okra is an everyday crop for millions of people – from farmers to consumers,” Dhillon noted. “But keeping it productive in the face of changing virus pressure demands science, cooperation, and a willingness to face the problem head-on. That’s what these trials represent – a real test under real conditions – with the APSA-WorldVeg Consortium providing the perfect framework.”
The next Okra Field Day will take place in Thailand in 2026, where breeding lines and hybrids will again be exposed to natural infection – another test in another lion’s den.
