Plant Pulse

When to plant Okra in Colombo

When to plant Okra in Colombo. Stored windows: Yala (April–May); Maha (September–October). Ranges from different sources are not averaged.

Unverified — based on HORDI Crop - Okra, Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka, accessed 2026-10-20: https://doa.gov.lk/hordi-crop-okra/; confirm for your microclimate.

Stored planting windows

  • Yala: April–May

    Direct sow

    Using 50–100 stored days. Plant in Apr, first harvest about 50–100 days later (around June–July). Plant in May, first harvest around July–August. Calculated from the stored day count and the planting month. It is not a separate harvest calendar.

    Climatic section: Yala, early April to early May. The opening sentence also says okra can be grown throughout the year. That sentence is not used to fill every month. The page excludes the up-country wet zone and does not name Colombo.

    Unverified — based on HORDI Crop - Okra, Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka, accessed 2026-10-20: https://doa.gov.lk/hordi-crop-okra/; confirm for your microclimate.

  • Maha: September–October

    Direct sow

    Using 50–100 stored days. Plant in Sep, first harvest about 50–100 days later (around November–December). Plant in Oct, first harvest around December–January. Calculated from the stored day count and the planting month. It is not a separate harvest calendar.

    Climatic section: Maha, early September to early October. Direct seeding. Harvest can continue over 50-100 days after planting.

    Unverified — based on HORDI Crop - Okra, Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka, accessed 2026-10-20: https://doa.gov.lk/hordi-crop-okra/; confirm for your microclimate.

Season ranges

Two or more season ranges are stored. They are not joined. A month is marked only when it falls inside a stored range.

  • Yala is stored from more than one source, and the months do not match. Yala (FAO) is Mar–Aug. Yala (National Drought Plan) is Apr–Sep. Both ranges are shown. They are not averaged.
  • Maha is stored from more than one source, and the months do not match. Maha (FAO) is Sep–Feb. Maha (National Drought Plan) is Oct–Mar. Both ranges are shown. They are not averaged.

Rainfall seasons

  1. First inter-monsoon: Mar–Apr (Rainfall)

    Climate of Sri Lanka, Department of Meteorology, accessed 2026-10-20: https://meteo.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=310&lang=en

  2. Southwest monsoon: May–Sep (Rainfall)

    Climate of Sri Lanka, Department of Meteorology, accessed 2026-10-20: https://meteo.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=310&lang=en

  3. Second inter-monsoon: Oct–Nov (Rainfall)

    Climate of Sri Lanka, Department of Meteorology, accessed 2026-10-20: https://meteo.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=310&lang=en

  4. Northeast monsoon: Dec–Feb (Rainfall)

    Climate of Sri Lanka, Department of Meteorology, accessed 2026-10-20: https://meteo.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=310&lang=en

Agricultural seasons

  1. Yala (FAO): Mar–Aug (Agricultural)

    Improvement of plant nutrient management for better farmer livelihood, food security and environment in Sri Lanka, J.D.H. Wijewardena, Department of Agriculture, hosted by FAO, accessed 2026-10-20: https://www.fao.org/4/ag120e/AG120E12.htm

  2. Maha (FAO): Sep–Feb (Agricultural)

    Improvement of plant nutrient management for better farmer livelihood, food security and environment in Sri Lanka, J.D.H. Wijewardena, Department of Agriculture, hosted by FAO, accessed 2026-10-20: https://www.fao.org/4/ag120e/AG120E12.htm

  3. Yala (National Drought Plan): Apr–Sep (Agricultural)

    National Drought Plan for Sri Lanka, Ministry of Environment, September 2020, accessed 2026-10-20: https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/country_profile_documents/NDP%20of%20Sri%20Lanka-Final%20Report-Sept%202020.pdf

  4. Maha (National Drought Plan): Oct–Mar (Agricultural)

    National Drought Plan for Sri Lanka, Ministry of Environment, September 2020, accessed 2026-10-20: https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/country_profile_documents/NDP%20of%20Sri%20Lanka-Final%20Report-Sept%202020.pdf

Methodology

Where do these planting months come from?
Each range is a stored planting window for this crop and climate. A month that is not listed has no stored window. It is not a recommendation to skip planting.
Why can the same season appear more than once?
When two sources give different months for the same season, both ranges are listed. They are not averaged, and the gap between them is not filled in.
How are grower notes different from official windows?
Farmer field notes are labelled Farmer field experience, with the month they were noted. They are not official department windows, and they are not yet verified against official sources.

Okra crop page · Planting calendar for Okra in Colombo