okra plants are deformed

i planted some okra the last of april. they was looking ok ,but now there in bad shape. there drawing up and looks like everything is being sucked out of them.heres a couple picture of them

heres another one,this is the roots ,there short and far,with just a few little roots sticking out

Have you checked closely for aphids or spider mites?

yes,theres nothing there, neighbor came over and said it might be nemetoeds, one row is really bad thenext row looks like there suppose to im picking okra off it, them some in the other 2 roes has it to.you know anything about them things

sorry, I've never grown okra (just sowed some though), and I haven't knowingly had trouble with nematodes. Hopefully somebody else will take a look here. Those roots look pretty bad; maybe something has been munching on them? Do you find a lot of grubs when you turn over the soil? Wish I could help!

no i halven,t found nothing in the soil,are on the plants,does plantingby cedar trees cause a problem,these are planted about 25 feet from a lot of large ceders,first time of planting out there.thanks far your help

I suppose cedars might make the soil more acid when they drop their leaves? needles? not sure how to classify the green stuff on cedars! But I have no idea if that would have a negative impact on okra. I did a quick forum search but came up dry except for the suggestion that okra doesn't like "wet feet" (how's the drainage?) and that mature plants should be spaced 3 to 4 feet apart.

Hopefully, one of our experts will weigh in soon!

I'd guess nematodes or too-wet soil given the stunted root growth.

well we have been haveing lots of thunder storms here in florida, i halven,t had to water in a long time,get 1 to 2 inches of rain everytime you turn around,the water has started standing in places. thanks Critterologist, and thanks Terry, could be thoes darn nementodes

I understand you can plant marigolds (tagetes), and turn them under in the fall, to control the nematodes. Some people may think it is a waste of garden space, but as you can see, once you have them, nothing can grow there (except Marigolds). Then that spot would be useful come springtime.

Hoping it was just the water, and best of luck. Are you going to plant some new okra?

hello Tamara Faye
you mean planting marigolds flowers that will help?i have them in other places in the yard but not the garden, will start pulling up and putting them in the garden.i would love to plant some more but not sure if i can now,.with all this rain were getting,the seeds will just wash away. my garden beginning to suffer from all the rain,and now theres a depression out there and the weather guys is saying were going to get a lot more rain.it was really bad yesterday big signs was blowed over and a tree down the street. do you grow okra.i will fill my okra patch up with marigold then see what happen next plantint,

It takes a full season to kill the nematodes. Yes, pull some up (get as much roots as possible), and throw them in your garden, cover with dirt or mulch. Rototill in if you can. Then do a fall planting. By spring you should have new soil. Somewhere (maybe O.G. Forum?) there is a link to a site about this. But it has been well researched and established. It is called bio-fumicide. There is an interesting article about a farmer using mustard on his 500 acres potato farm successfully, and a new book out about it as well:

http://www.newfarm.org/features/2005/0505/gies/index.shtml

thank you so much,i will do all that , that was a neat link, i know your not suppose to plant the same thing in the place you always plant it in,i chang rows when i plant ,but this is my biggest garden,usualy a small one

here is some more info about nematods that I just stumbled across:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/earthkind/ekgarden26.html

and another:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/earthkind/ekgarden27.html

p.s., as long as I don't have a pest or disease problem, I don't rotate very many things