The Amasya flower okra is a very small okra variety picked before it has fully developed, while it still carries its flower. A fresh pod weighs on average between 1.4 and 2.3 grams; at harvest it measures roughly 16 to 29 millimetres in length and 11 to 14 millimetres across. These dimensions set it apart from the other okras grown in Turkey and lead local people to call it "the smallest okra in the world." On 29 May 2018 the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office registered it as a designation of origin under the name "Amasya Çiçek Bamyası" (Amasya Flower Okra), and it is one of the most distinctive parts of Amasya's agricultural identity.

The authoritative description of the product is the geographical indication registration document. It lists not only the name but every characteristic, from the height of the plant to the colour of its seed, from the choice of drying place to the inspection calendar; the account below rests largely on this document and on the records of the district of Taşova.

Description of the Plant

Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus, is a vegetable of warm climates belonging to the Malvaceae family, which also includes cotton and mallow. The Amasya flower okra is a local type of this species adapted to the region. Its pods are shaped like a slender pyramid, stand upright and are green; the pods, about 1 centimetre in size on average, resemble the sultani okra but are smaller. The petals are yellow. The number of calyx segments where the pod joins the stalk varies between 8 and 10. The seeds are heart-shaped, kidney-shaped or flattened round, light to dark green in colour, and a thousand seeds weigh between 57 and 66 grams.

The plant does not grow on a single stem. From the moment it emerges it tillers and builds a forked structure, forming at least four or five side branches, and its average height lies between 113 and 157 centimetres. The leaves are deeply lobed, so the pods are easily seen among them. When judged by the leaf at the sixth node, the leaf colour is exclusively light green. Because its stem is green with red stripes, the plant is also called "kızıl bacak" (red leg) in the region. The registration document notes that its cultivation is suited to organic farming methods.

The most troublesome feature of okra is its hairiness. The hairs on the pod, stalk and leaves irritate pickers during harvest and cause severe itching if the plant is handled bare-handed. The Amasya flower okra has little hair on its stem, leaves and pods. In the document's words, this makes the work easier for the grower and raises eating quality, which is why both producers and consumers prefer the product to other okras.

The Origin of the Name and the Logic of the Harvest

The product is called "flower" okra because the pod is picked after the flower opens and before it has fully developed. At this stage the pod is soft and delicate, which is also why it can be dried in season and stored for the winter months. Harvesting is done every day, because a pod left unpicked soon toughens, grows hairier and becomes unsuitable for drying. While sultani okra is picked every two or three days and mostly sold fresh, only a small part of the flower okra is sold fresh. Since the economic return is higher, most of it is dried.

Harvesting also benefits the plant. After each picking, new flowers and pods are encouraged; pods left on the plant to ripen for seed, on the other hand, hinder its growth. Delay in harvesting therefore lowers the yield. Picking is done by pulling the pods downward.

The Growing Region

The registration document defines the geographical boundary as the Merkez, Taşova and Göynücek districts of Amasya province, the Erbaa district of Tokat, and the Mecitözü, Osmancık and Kargı districts of Çorum. The applicant was the Amasya Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. According to the document, Amasya is the province where okra is grown most in the Black Sea Region. The climatic reason is that the Canik Mountains are low enough to let the sea influence enter the interior, and that the valleys of the Yeşilırmak and the Kızılırmak moderate the climate. These conditions extend the growing season of this heat-loving plant to between 125 and 135 days.

The fields where okra is planted are alluvial valley-floor plains along the Yeşilırmak and its tributaries (the Çekerek, Tozanlı and Destek streams). Taşova and its surroundings, and Göynücek and its surroundings, are among the foremost of these areas. The soil is full of alluvial material and highly permeable. In terms of humidity the region differs from the Black Sea coast: winters are cold, summers are not very humid, and summer humidity lies between 40 and 55 percent.

Climate and Harvest Season

Okra is a warm-climate vegetable; temperature is decisive from the second half of June, when it begins to flower, until the end of October, when the harvest ends. At high temperatures a branch can open two or even three flowers a week. In measurements for 1950-2014, Amasya's mean temperature was recorded as 24.1 degrees in July, 24 in August, 20 in September and 14.6 in October. In October the mean minimum falls to 8.5 degrees, and so the end of the harvest is set by the climate.

Rainfall is another yardstick. In the same period the mean monthly rainfall is 15 kilograms per square metre in July, 9 in August and 21 in September, and the number of rainy days is three each in July and August. According to the document, little rain increases the need for irrigation but matters for ease of harvest and quality, because rain lowers the commercial value of the product during the interval between picking and stringing the flowers and removing the blossoms and completing the drying in the desired colour. Harvest intensity therefore peaks in July and August. Continuing daily picking depends on a high number of sunny days; between July and October the number of sunny days is lowest in October.

Early Records

The registration document bases the historical continuity of the product on two records. A work written in 1893, in the Ottoman period, states that 975 okka, that is 1,250 kilograms, of okra was produced in Amasya province. Another source records that in 1901 Amasya okra, in quantities of 60 kıyye and 172 kıyye, was sent to Istanbul, to the Ottoman Palace. The document gives the equivalents as 76,920 and 220,504 kilograms. Because the conversion between okka and kıyye does not agree with these kilogram values, the kilogram equivalent of the second record should not be taken as certain; what can be concluded from the record is that okra was a product known well enough to be sent to the palace. The original texts of both records have not been separately verified here and are cited as reported in the document.

The document further states that, because okra production in Amasya has continued without interruption to the present, the plant has adapted to many stress conditions such as climate, soil, diseases and pests and has developed resistance. This is the basis on which the flower okra is regarded as a localised type.

Sowing and Care

Seed is sown in late April or early May; the timing is the same in Taşova. For germination, temperature and soil moisture must be suitable; if the soil is sufficiently moist, the seed comes up in one and a half to two weeks, the emergence time averaging seven to nine days and the emergence rate lying between 87 and 95 percent. After emergence the plant tillers and forms three to six stems. Per decare, two to three kilograms of seed are considered sufficient for row sowing and five to six kilograms for broadcast sowing. The first true leaf forms in 12 to 17 days, the first flowering appears in 53 to 64 days, and the first harvest begins 54 to 66 days after sowing. The first flower opens between the fifth and seventh node, at a height of 9.6 to 17.2 centimetres above the ground.

Okra loves water, and when irrigated regularly both its yield rises and its hairiness falls. The document states that sprinkler irrigation must never be used because it encourages powdery mildew; water given after the first pods appear, on the other hand, benefits the yield. Three waterings a week are recommended on clay soils and four or five a week on stony and gravelly soils. The plant does not need much fertiliser; well-rotted farmyard manure applied the previous autumn together with a compound fertiliser low in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus is sufficient. If farmyard manure cannot be found, green manuring is used, and ammonium sulphate may be applied during rooting. Weed control begins with a treatment before sowing and continues after emergence with three or four hoeings depending on the season. The most important disease is powdery mildew and the most important pest is aphids.

Harvest and Stringing

Harvest generally begins in the first week of June, in Taşova, according to the district's records, in the second week of June. From July to August the pods drop from the tip, and between August and September from both tip and base. For this reason August is the month of highest yield. The harvest lasts four to four and a half months and is the stage that takes the greatest labour in okra production. The registration document states that, because the pods are small, two workers starting at five in the morning can pick one decare by evening.

The distinguishing side of the method is that the flower is picked together with the pod. The okra picked each day with its yellow flowers is strung on cotton thread with a needle the same day. In Taşova the length of these threads is three metres, that is, two fathoms. The strung okra is covered with a thin cloth and left for a night so that the flowers separate easily from the pods. In the early morning the flowers are removed by hand from the strings taken out from under the cloth. This stage must be carried out without overheating and without the pod rotting. A string of okra whose flowers have fallen is now ready for drying. In Taşova, after the softened flower cups are cleaned, the strings are hung in half-sunny places, especially under roof tiles, and the farmer goes back to the field to pick the next day's flowers.

Drying and Yield

Drying is not done in direct sunlight. The document asks for places where it is hot but not exposed to direct sun and away from damp, such as an attic. The aim is for the okra to dry in a greenish colour close to yellow; a golden-yellow colour when dry is the desired property. The dried strings are kept in a damp-free place until sale. In Taşova the okra dried in its hanging places is taken indoors, and about thirty strings are gathered into a ball of one kilogram. The balls of string are brought to market in sacks and bought in bulk by buyers in the early morning hours.

Sources give different figures for the fresh-to-dry conversion ratio. The Taşova records say that one kilogram of dry okra is obtained from six kilograms of fresh okra. The registration document takes an 80 percent moisture loss as its basis and states that about two kilograms of dry product are obtained from ten kilograms of fresh okra; in the document's measurements, 250 grams of fresh okra was strung and dried in the shade, and the dry yield was found to be 18.23 percent at the start of the harvest, 18.83 in the middle and 20.81 at the end. Two different figures also appear for the yield per decare. The document states that 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of fresh product are harvested per decare, while the Taşova records say that an average of 50 kilograms of dry okra can be obtained per decare. These two values do not match, and the sources do not explain which belongs to which conditions.

Nutritional Value

The tables attached to the registration document state that 100 grams of fresh okra contain about 89.6 grams of water, 1.9 grams of protein, 6.4 grams of carbohydrate, 1.2 grams of fibre and 0.7 grams of minerals, and that its calorie value is 35. Among minerals, calcium is 66, phosphorus 56, potassium 103 and magnesium 53 milligrams. The same table gives vitamin C as 13 milligrams. This is a general okra table and does not consist of measurements specific to the Amasya flower okra.

In the measurement specific to the Amasya flower okra, the vitamin C content of fresh pods taken in the middle of the harvest season is between 34.56 and 41.76 milligrams per 100 grams; the average fresh value is 38.01 milligrams. In dried pods this amount was measured higher than in fresh pods: 49.75 milligrams on average in dried pods, 48.46 in those kept for one month and 48.25 in those kept for three months. According to the document, drying creates no problem in terms of nutritional value. The average soluble solids content is 4.9 percent and the average pH is 6.29.

Taşova and Production

Taşova is the centre of gravity of okra production. According to the district's records, okra is sown on an average of 2,800 decares each year. Okra is grown in almost every village except those at high altitude, and the village of Çaydibi is given as the most important production settlement. Dried okra always finds buyers in the district market. Because cultivation is the district's most important source of income, a promotion group has been formed under the leadership of the District Governorate and the Municipality. The Taşova Flower Okra Culture and Arts Festival, first held by Taşova Municipality in 1994, has been repeated every year since. The district records also contain this observation: people unaccustomed to okra dishes may not much like them on a first try, but those who acquire the taste want them again and again.

Use in the Kitchen

The best-known use of dried flower okra in the region is lemony okra soup. The dried okra taken off the strings is softened in water, boiled in meat broth and, when served, lemon is squeezed over it. The characteristic consistency of the soup comes from the natural mucilaginous texture of okra. Meat okra stew also appears at the region's tables; the small pods absorb the broth and give the dish an intense flavour. The dried strings are kept in the pantry throughout winter, so okra does not leave the kitchen even when summer ends. These uses rest on local culinary knowledge; the registration document and the district records give no recipe details and stress only the product's value for drying.

Geographical Indication and Inspection

The Amasya Flower Okra was applied for on 21 April 2016 under Industrial Property Law No. 6769 and registered on 29 May 2018 as a designation of origin under number 352. The application number is C2016/031, and the product falls in the group "processed and unprocessed fruits and vegetables and mushrooms." The name may be used on the product together with a trademark.

Inspection is carried out by an inspection authority formed under the coordination of the Amasya Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. The authority has three experts: two from the Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute and one from the Amasya Chamber of Agriculture. Inspection takes place three times a year and at any time in case of complaint. The first period covers sowing and emergence (30 April-20 May), when the seed emergence rate, emergence time and first-leaf condition are checked. The second is the growth period (30 May-15 June), when branching, leaf hairiness, calyx number and plant height are examined. The third is harvest and after (20 June-30 September), when yield per decare, pod weight, colour, shape, diameter, stalk length, thousand-seed weight and the suitability of the drying method are checked. Legal action is taken against those who do not comply, and the inspection reports are sent to TÜRKPATENT every year.

Protecting the Seed

According to the document, the Amasya flower okra is grown in a very limited area, on plots of at most three decares, and the cultivation method has been continued with the same culture for years. For this reason the uniformity of the genetic material is considered already preserved. Producers obtain the seed they will sow the following year from their own gardens: from among that year's plants, a few pods at the very bottom of those that best carry the characteristics of the Amasya flower okra are left on the plant to ripen as seed. Because okra is not affected by the pollen of other crops grown around it, no change in the seed type is expected. Seed entry into the region from outside is kept under control, seed inspections are carried out by the provincial directorate, and producers are given training.

Chronology

1893: A work written in the Ottoman period records that 975 okka (1,250 kg) of okra were produced in Amasya.

1901: There is a record of Amasya okra being sent to Istanbul, to the Ottoman Palace (60 and 172 kıyye).

1994: Taşova Municipality holds the first Taşova Flower Okra Culture and Arts Festival.

21 April 2016: The geographical indication application for Amasya Flower Okra is made.

29 May 2018: Amasya Flower Okra is registered as a designation of origin under number 352.

Sources

Official sources

Online sources