How to Vanquish 22 Pernicious Okra Pests and Diseases

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is one of those vegetables that people either love or loathe. If you’re an okra fan, however, you’re likely growing oodles of it to bread and fry, add to gumbos and stews, and just about everything else.

But standing between you and your favorite okra dish are all the pests that are also looking to make a meal out of your plants. Like most other crops, okra is vulnerable to a number of different insect interlopers.

Below are 22 okra pests and pathogens that you might come across and how to treat or eliminate them so they don’t obliterate your crop.

Okra Pests

Let’s start with the crawlers, creepers, flyers, and sapsuckers that will make a feast of your plants.

1. Aphids

These small insects are common just about everywhere and can wreak havoc on all kinds of plants. In fact, the list of plants they don’t feed on with their sucking mouthparts is pretty short.

Blast them off your plants with a strong spray from your hose, or else mist your plants with neem oil. Additionally, you can plant yarrow nearby to draw braconid wasps and ladybugs to help destroy them, or alliums like garlic and chives because aphids can’t stand them.

Another option is to smother and/or desiccate them. Douse your plants with all-purpose flour mixed with diatomaceous earth in a 2:1 ratio. This will suffocate and dry out the aphids without damaging your plants or contaminating the nearby soil.

2. Spider Mites

If your okra plants look like they’re covered in fine, lacy webbing, then you likely have spider mites. These tiny insects are only about one mm long, so they’re difficult to spot. As such, you’ll likely notice they’re around when you spot their webbing paired with tiny holes all over your plants’ leaves and stems.

Much like aphids, spider mites can be fended off or eliminated with hose spray and neem oil. Additionally, insects like lacewings feast on these mites, so planting species that attract them can help to keep populations down.

Read our article on How to Help Attract Lacewings to Your Garden to help you manage these mites naturally.

3. Corn Earworms

These caterpillars are also known as “tomato fruitworm” or “cotton bollworm,” as their moniker will shift depending on which cultivar they’re annihilating. They’re the larvae of Helicoverpa zea moths and can cause serious damage to your okra crops.

BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) is effective at reducing their numbers and is a natural way to control pests, harnessing the power of this beneficial bacteria.

Or, let your chickens or ducks run through your okra plants to pick the crawlers off.

Additionally, earworms are preyed upon by both parasitic braconid wasps and pirate bugs (Orius sp.). Plant yarrow nearby to draw the wasps, while field peas or strawberries will lure the pirates over.

4. Loopers

Also known as “inchworms,” loopers are the larvae of Trichoplusia ni moths, and will attack your okra plants with more enthusiasm than you can imagine.

If there are multiple, ragged holes on your okra’s leaves, then loopers are one of the most likely culprits. They crawl around on the leaves’ undersides, gnawing on them as they go along.

These worms are long enough to remove by hand, but the aforementioned BT is also very effective against them. You can also place some bird feeders and baths around to entice bird friends, as they love to feast upon these tasty little loopers.

Additionally, toads, frogs, lizards, and snakes will eat them as well, so keep some habitat-friendly areas around for them.

Learn more about controlling loopers in our full guide.

5. Cutworms

Unlike many other larvae on this list, caterpillars don’t go for your okra plants’ foliage. Instead, they crawl around at the soil level and gnaw their way through plant stems. If your okra looks like someone has sawn it off at the base, then you’re likely dealing with cutworms.

You can head out at dawn or dusk to pick these off by hand, but there are other, more effective ways to deal with them. One is to put “collars” on the stems: save toilet paper rolls, cut a seam down one side, and wrap these around the stems. Tuck them down about one inch into the soil, and they’ll create an effective barrier against said worms.

Cutworms are also sensitive to diatomaceous earth (DE), so feel free to sprinkle that liberally over the soil’s surface too.

For more tips, check out our article on How to Identify and Get Rid of Cutworms in Your Garden.

6. Armyworms

These caterpillars are most active at night when you’re fast asleep, crawling through your okra patch to feed.

They love warm, damp conditions, and thus thrive in areas where okra does best: southwestern U.S. states, the Caribbean, parts of Central and South America, as well as some areas in the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia.

Armyworms often hatch en masse, leaving skeletonized foliage in their wake.

BT is effective at controlling these, as are the aforementioned braconid wasps. Birds also love these caterpillars, so if you aren’t using chemical controls, entice your local species to your okra patch with indigenous plants they feed on, as well as hanging seed or suet feeders and birdbaths.

Learn more about controlling armyworms in our guide.

7. Leaf Miners

Are there yellow, zig-zagging trails munched through all of your okra leaves? Then you’re likely dealing with leaf miners. Check your plants for dark, maggoty-worm-looking crawlers to confirm, and then go on the offensive to eliminate them.

Plant lamb’s quarters nearby as a trap crop, and use floating row covers to keep the parent flies from laying eggs on your okra. If they get to your plants anyway, introduce Diglyphus isaea parasitic wasps, and hose down your plants with neem oil to eliminate them.

8. Flea Beetles

While flea beetles will bite tiny holes throughout your okra seedlings’ leaves, that isn’t the primary type of damage they cause. Rather, these critters are disease vectors that carry all manner of nasties from other gardens and farms over to your land.

All you need is a couple of flea beetles carrying mosaic virus, and you could lose your entire crop.

If you find these, use neem oil and diatomaceous earth to both eliminate them and prevent them from returning.

At the end of the season, turn over the soil well to expose eggs to predators, and remove all garden detritus like fallen leaves and dead plant matter. If you don’t give them any place to overwinter, they’ll either wander off or die off before they can continue their life cycle.

Learn more about flea beetles in our guide.

9. Cotton Stainer Bugs

Since okra is related to cotton, it shares many of the same pests as that crop. Cotton stainer bugs (Dysdercus cingulatus) are orange and black, and cause dark, stain-like blisters on okra plants during their fruiting stage. They don’t feed on the leaves but rather go directly for the developing pods and can ruin an entire crop.

Assassin beetles, birds, and parasitic wasps will help keep populations down, and letting your chickens or Guinea fowl loose in the okra field will also drastically reduce their numbers.

Additionally, custard apple leaf (Annona squamosa) extract has proven to be a remarkably effective pesticide against cotton stainers.

10. Thrips

Do your okra plants’ leaves look like they’ve been spattered with tiny white paint droplets? Then you’re likely dealing with thrips.

These insects aren’t affected by most pesticides, but can be driven off with regular neem oil applications. Additionally, you can trap them with sticky tape around your okra plants’ stems, or by shaking them onto cloth placed beneath them and then drowning them in hot, soapy water.

11. Whiteflies

Whiteflies are almost as tiny as aphids and can do just about as much damage to your okra crop. They bite into leaves and stems alike and leave sticky honeydew in their wake, and you’ll end up with unhealthy okra plants with shriveled fruit and dead leaves.

Sprays containing neem oil can ward them off. Additionally, ladybugs and dragonflies love to feast on them, so introducing these species (or luring them to your land) can be immensely beneficial.

Learn more about controlling this common pest in our guide.

12. Stink Bugs

These smelly beasts love to suck the sap out of your okra plants during daylight hours, as they love warmth and sunshine. This leaves your plants vulnerable to disease, and the stem damage prevents them from uptaking nutrients properly.

You can use stink bug traps to lure them away from your crop or use strong scents to deter them. Some people use dryer sheets to fend them off, but those generally release unhealthy chemicals into the nearby soil.

As an alternative, you can tear apart a cardboard egg carton, drizzle each section with essential oil, and place those sections around your okra patch.

Some of the scents that deter them best include:

13. Root-Knot Nematodes

The same warm, damp conditions that allow eel-like nematodes to thrive happen to be perfect for okra growing. Yay! As such, okra is particularly susceptible to these wigglers, which stunt the plant’s growth and prevent it from fruiting properly.

You can reduce the nematodes’ numbers with regular crop rotation, as well as treating the soil in such a way as to make it inhospitable to these critters.

After this growing season, cover the soil where you grew your okra with French marigolds (Tagetes patula). Once that season ends, sow a crop of winter rye, and dig it into the soil as green manure to decompose over the winter.

Amend the soil thoroughly with fish meal, shrimp meal, eggshells, or other sources of chitin the following spring. These amendments nourish the microorganisms that thrive on chitinous material, including nematode eggs.

As such, the increased microorganism numbers will help to drastically reduce nematode numbers.

Okra Diseases

In addition to the various pest predators mentioned above, okra is also susceptible to a number of different diseases. Keep in mind that pests spread many of these diseases, so keeping pests under control will go a long way toward warding off disease.

14. Damping-Off Disease

This usually happens shortly after okra seeds germinate. The seedlings fail to thrive, and either wilt or keel over completely. It most often happens if the seeds are planted outside before the soil has had a chance to properly warm in springtime.

A number of different fungal pathogens dwell in soil and thrive in cool, damp conditions. If the season’s sun and heat haven’t sufficiently solarized the soil, these pathogens will eat away at the seedlings’ roots.

This destroys their cell structure and prevents them from being able to uptake nutrients. Aim to start your seeds indoors in a sterile soil-starting medium, or plant directly outside once it’s warm out, well past your last frost date.

15. Fusarium Wilt

Are your okra leaves yellowing and falling off? And do there seem to be necrotic areas on both the leaves and the fruits?

These are classic signs of fusarium wilt, which is caused by Fusarium oxysporum fungal spores. They thrive in warm, moist soil, which happens to be the conditions that allow okra to thrive.

There is no cure for this fungal infection, so if and when it appears, you’ll have to pull up all of your plants and burn them. To prevent future infections, rotate your crops diligently, and don’t plant any okra in that area for three to five years.

In addition, you can try to fend it off by removing all debris from the soil as soon as it appears, turning over the soil to solarize at the end of the season, and planting fusarium-resistant cultivars in the future, such as the Indian ‘Arka Abhay’ cultivar.

Learn more about how to prevent this pathogen in our article How to Deal with Fusarium Wilt in Your Garden Plants.

16. Charcoal Rot

Do your okra plants look like you’ve rubbed charcoal dust around their stems and lower leaves? Then you’re likely dealing with charcoal rot. It’s caused by the Macrophomina phaseolina fungus, which is a soil-borne pathogen that thrives in high temperatures with low soil moisture.

Although no fungicides are particularly effective against this pathogen, it can be reduced via soil solarization, and higher-phosphorous fertilizer. The best options for avoiding this issue in future is to choose resistant plant cultivars, and rotate crops regularly.

17. Southern Blight

There are many fungal pathogens common in tropical and subtropical areas, and southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) is one of them. It’s a soil-borne fungal disease that will rot your okra plants’ stems and cause their leaves to yellow and die off.

If this blight affects your okra plants, pull them up and burn them. There is no cure for this disease, so it’s best to destroy any affected species. Avoid planting okra or cotton in that vicinity for at least four years, and consider turning the soil six inches deep to solarize it.

The fungicide Terraclor has been shown mildly effective at reducing spore numbers, but nothing eliminates this disease completely. Your best bet is to avoid overwatering the area, eliminate any dead or dying plant matter, and practice regular crop rotation.

18. Early Blight (Alternaria)

Early blight (Alternaria spp.) initial symptoms are usually small brown spots on leaves with yellow halos. These then enlarge and spread, rendering the leaves completely brown before they fall off.

There’s no cure for Alternaria in okra, so you’ll have to tear up and destroy any affected plants. You can, however, treat the soil afterward by solarizing it at a depth of about six inches, preferably during a hot, dry period.

Avoid planting okra or cotton – or any other susceptible species – in that area for at least a few years.

Alternaria can also affect humans, particularly those who are immunocompromised. If you fall into this category, wear gloves and protective respiratory equipment when handling afflicted plants.

It’s rare, but you certainly don’t want to risk catching this disease!

19. Okra Enation Leaf Curl Virus (OELCV)

This is a Begomovirus that’s spread by whiteflies, which is a great reason to reduce their numbers whenever possible. Its primary symptoms are warty growths on okra leaves, followed by leaf curling and vein thickening.

There aren’t any cures for this virus, so the best defense is a good offense. Use integrated pest management to reduce whitefly populations, and choose virus-resistant cultivars whenever possible. If and when you do find any affected plants, remove and destroy them immediately.

20. Powdery Mildew

If your beloved okra plants look like they’ve been dusted with corn starch or talcum powder, then you’re likely contending with powdery mildew. It thrives in warm, damp conditions and can quickly spread between plants to obliterate your crop.

Fungicides containing sulfur or neem are effective in treating this issue, but if it’s advanced, you’ll need to pull up the plant and destroy it. Your best bets are preventive measures such as buying mildew-resistant cultivars, pruning your plants so the leaves get plenty of sunshine and airflow, and always watering at soil level, rather than overhead.

21. Mosaic Virus

Mosaic virus in okra is primarily transmitted by whiteflies, and is incredibly contagious. The initial symptoms are yellow leaf mottling in a mosaic-like pattern, as well as vein thickening and yellowing.

There is no cure for mosaic virus, so you’ll need to pull up and burn any and all afflicted plants. Then, don’t plant any okra, cotton, or cucurbits in that area for several years.

22. Blossom Blight

If your okra blossoms and fruits look like they’ve grown beards, they’re likely afflicted by “blossom blight.” This is caused by the Choanephora cucurbitarum fungus, which has no known treatment at this point in time.

Pull up and burn affected plants, and don’t grow okra in that area for another few years. When and if you do grow it again, cultivate it in raised beds with plenty of drainage, and always water at soil level. Additionally, space your plants far enough apart that there’s still plenty of sun and airflow between them, and prune back excess foliage as needed.