Sounds like the soil-borne fungus disease called 'Damp-Off'. See Damping Off. Usually only develops if the soil is kept too wet. What is your watering regimen?

Dave

PS: link below deals with the disease in seedlings but it can develop at any time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Damp-Off fungus FAQ

Thanks for your quick reply.
I'm familiar (unfortunately) with "Damp-off". But the Okra are 4-6"tall, stem is hard & stiff, but with green covering missing going up about 2-3" from soil. I think of "damp-off" affecting tiny seedlings. Watering is tough, with temps around 100degrees & 12 hours hot sun.. either too dry or maybe too wet. Soil dries out quickly. I did use some bags of stuff from Home Depot that seemed more like sawdust (dyed dark brown). Leaves themselves aren't really wilted (except squash wilt easily).
Am going to try Garden's Alive "Root Guardian"... microbe "Trichoderma harzianum" soil drench.

While damp-off is most commonly associated with seedlings, it isn't restricted to them by any means. It can develop at any time during the plants growth cycle, even well-established plants when conditions are right.

Dave