PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF

MORINGA
 Introduction

• Moringa - Moringa oleifera

• Family - Moringaceae
• Native to India

• Occurring wild in the sub-Himalayan tracts of

northern India
• Now grown world wide in the tropics and sub-tropics
 Area and production

 India - 1.2 to 1.7 million tonnes of tender fruits

 Area - 38,000 ha with productivity around 35 t/ha

 Andhra Pradesh - 15,665 ha

 Karnataka - 10,280 ha
 Tamil Nadu - 9,000 ha
 Parts used in Moringa …
Leaves : Food and feed
: rich in iron, calcium and proteins also
posses medicinal properties.
Pods : Vegetable
Seeds : Cooking oil, energy (Bio diesel),
Lubricants for precession machinery ,
Cosmetics, Coagulants.
Bark : Coarse fiber
Roots : Essential oil, Medicinal uses
Stem : Paper industry
 Potential uses of Moringa - an overview
Leaves: Trees: Pods:
Nutrition, Alley Cropping Flowers: Nutrition,
Medicine Erosion Control Medicine Medicine

Roots: Seeds: Gum: Bark:

Medicine Water Medicine Medicine
Purification
Medicine
Oil
 Species wealth
Moringaceae - 13 Sps.

 M. oleifera  M. peregrina
 M. borziana  M. pygmaea
 M. concanensis
 M. rivae
 M. drouhardii
 M. ruspoliana and
 M. hildebrandtii
 M. stenopetala
 M . Longituba
 M. ovalifolia  M. arborea
 M. borziana M. concanensis M. drouhardii

M. hildebrandtii M . longituba M. ovalifolia

M. peregrina M. pygmaea M. rivae

M. ruspoliana M. stenopetala M. arborea

 M. oleifera
 Native to India
 leaves usually tripinnate,
leaflets 12-18 mm long,
petiole yellow or white and
trees are medium
 Nutritious leaves, Pods and
Flowers are edible
 M. concanensis

Found wild in dry tropical

forest from southern tip of
India (Palani hills of T.N )

very thick bark, bipinnate

leaves and petioles with
red streaks
 Varieties / cultivars
Considerable genetic variability was available in the tarai tract of UP

• Jaffna moringa - a perennial type which bares 60-90 cm long pods

with soft flesh and good taste
• Chavakacheri muringa - a perennial type producing 90-120 cm long
pods.
• Chemmuringa - This perennial type flowers throughout year and
bears red tipped fruits
• Yazhpanam muringa – same as Jaffna type
• Pal muringai – Pods having thicker pulp and better taste
• Puna muringa – Thinner fruits.
• Kodikal muringa – produces short pods of 15-20 cm long.
Propagated by seeds
• Saragva- perennial type, popular in Gujarat. Pods are 40- 50 cm
long, dark green pods
GKVK 1, 2, 3
• UAS bangalore
• Small stemmed varieties with 2-2.5 m height
• 120-200 pods/tree/year

Dhanaraj
• UAS, Dharwad (UHS)
• Starts bearing 9-10 MAP
• 150-200 pods/tree/year
• Pod length- 35-40 cm
• propgated through seeds

Bhagya
• UHS, Bagalkot
• Open pollinated seedling selection from Dhanaraj
• 2-4 m height
• Flowering- 100-110 DAP
• Pod length- 60-70 cm
• 350-400 pods/tree/year
Konkan Ruchira
• BSKV, Dapoli
• Selection from Vasai Local
• Annual bushy tree
• Flowering- 90-100 DAP
• 275 pods/tree/year

Rohit 1
• Superior quality
• Two crops/ year
• 400-600 pods/ tree/year
Anupama
• KAU
• Early, regular, protracted flowering and high yield
• Yield/ tree: 300 kg
• Pod length: 55.5 cm
• Fruit colour: green

AD 4
• KAU
• Early, regular, protracted flowering and high yield
• Yield/ tree: 285 kg
• Pod length: 55 cm
• Fruit color: reddish green turn dark green at harvest stage
• Annual seed drumstick

MO 70, MO 95, MO 44 (perennial)

 Varieties
KM 1
• Improved type designated as seed moringa (Bushy variety )
• Selection from a seed type
• Pods are short (32-37 cm lendht)
• 226-328 pods/ tree

PKM 1
• HC & RI periyakulam
• Pureline selection from a selfing population
• harvest-: 8-9 MAP
• 200-350 pods/tree
• propagated through seeds

PKM 2
• Hybrid derivative (MP 31 x MP 28)
• Medium tall tree
• Pod length: 123 cm
• Pod girth: 8.5 cm
• Pod weight: 280 g
• Less seed contnt and more flesh content
• propagated through seeds
Annual moringa: Moringa oleifera L.; family: Moringaceae

Varieties: PKM 1 and PKM 2.

Soil: Comes up well in a wide range of soil. A deep sandy loam soil with a pH of
6.5 – 8 is ideal.

Season: July – October.

Seed rate: 500 g/ha

Sow two seeds per pit at a depth of 2.5-3.0 cm. The seeds can also be sown in
polybags containing pot mixture and transplanted after 35 -40 days of sowing.

Preparatory cultivation: Dig pits of size 45 cm x 45 cm x 45 cm with a spacing

of 2.0-2.5 m either way. Apply 15 kg of compost or FYM/pit after mixing with top
soil.
High density planting and fertigation in moringa PKM- 1

High density planting at 1.5 X 1.0 m spacing with two

plants/hill and plant population 13,333 / ha along with the
application of fertilizer dose of 135: 23 :45 g of NPK/pit
(150%) through drip increases the yield of moringa.

In this phosphorus should be applied basally as soil

application. N and K can be applied in the form of urea and
muriate of potash through drip.

For PKM-2, the closest spacing of 1.2 x 1.2 m is ideal to

obtain the highest yield of 138 t/ha.

The pinching of main shoots on 80th day after sowing will

also help register the highest yield of fruits.
After cultivation: Gap filling may be done
within a month. Pinch off the seedlings when
they are about 75 cm in height to facilitate
more branching. Short duration vegetables
like cowpea, bhendi and tomato can be
grown as intercrop.

 For perennial moringa, medium pruning

of shoots at 70 cm from the tip has to be
followed to regulate flowering and obtain the
highest yield of 37 kg/ tree.

Manuring: A fertilizer dose of 45:15:30 g of

NPK/pit may be applied 3 months after
sowing.

Apply 45 g of N/pit after 6 months when the

crop is in bearing.

Irrigation: Irrigate before sowing, on 3rd day

after sowing and subsequently at 10 to 15
days interval according to soil type.
 Climate and soil

• Crop of dry and arid tracts.

• Intensive cultivation -good yield -annual type.
• 25-30oC.
• Higher temperature -heavy flower shedding
• Crop is also injured severely by frost.
• sandy loam rich in organic matter.
• pH 6.0 – 6.7
 Propagation
• Perennial types -limb cutting of 90-100 cm
length and 5-8 cm diameter.
• Annual types -seeds.
• Average seed weight - 0.288 g
• Seeds rate- 625 g/ ha
• Sown in pits or transplanted after raising
seedlings in polythene bags.
• Transplant- one MAS
 Land preparation

• Field is ploughed 3-4 times.

• Apply FYM @ 20 t ha/1 at last ploughing.

• Take pits of size 45 x 45 x 45 cm at a spacing of

6.0 x 6.0 m for perennial types and 2.5 x 2.5 m for

annual types

• Apply 10 kg FYM and fill up pits.

 Interculture and manuring
• To facilitate side branches, shoot may be
nipped off when the seedlings are at 75 cm
height.
• Apply 100 g Urea, 100 g Super phosphate and
50 gm MOP and irrigate heavily.
• Top dress plants with 100 g Urea again 3
months after first application.
• Provide light irrigation for early emergence of
seedlings for annual type.
• Spray application of GA3 @ 2 ppm on 90th day
of sowing increased all the pod characters.
 Ratooning
• Ratooning -After harvest of main crop, annual types are
cut back to one meter height from ground level
• Ratooned plants - new shoots -bearing four to five months
after ratooning.
• Three ratoon crops can be taken.
• At each and every ratoon crop, plants are supplied with
N, P and K nutrients as already mentioned along with 20-
35 kg of FYM and irrigate.
• Perennial types -pollarded back to a height of 0.3-0.45m
from ground level during October November.
 HARVEST AND YIELD
• Perennial types raised by cuttings take nearly a year to bear
fruit.
• The yield will generally be low (80-90 fruit/year) in the first two
years of fruit-bearing.
• This gradually increases to 500-600 fruit/tree/year in the
fourth and fifth years.
• The pods are harvested mainly between March and June.
• A second crop is normally harvested from September to
October.
• The harvest period extends for 2 – 3 months and each tree
bears 250 - 400 fruit depending on the type.
• Bud worm, leaf caterpillar and leaf webber: Dust
Carbaryl 10 D @ 25 kg/ha or spray Carbaryl 50 WP @ 2
g/l.
 Moringa pod fly management
Soil application of Thiamethoxam 25 WG @
200g a.i. / ha on 150, 180 and 210 days after
planting; placement of fermented tomato fruit trap
@ 25 / ha; and need based foliar spray of
Spinosad 45 SC @ 56g a.i. / ha followed by
Profenophos 50 EC@ 250g a.i. / ha
 Hairy caterpillar
1. Use flame torch when the caterpillars settle
on the tree trunk.
2. Spray Chlorpyriphos 20 EC or Quinalphos 25
EC @ 2 ml/l.
 Industrial values

 Seed oil is used as lubricants for fine

machineries

 Vegetable cooking oil

 Perfume industries for stabilising scents

 Seed oil contains 13% saturated fatty acid and

82% unsaturated fatty acids, Oleic acid 70%
Forage in milk industry

 Moringa leaves - used as fodder for animals

 Rich in protein, carotene, iron & ascorbic acid

Paper industry
 Moringa trunk – ideal part

 6 to 8 months of growth – ideal cutting

 Hemicellulose & cellulose – higher rate

 Energy conservation

 Energy - meet out using plant based fuels

 30 days old moringa plants - milled to extract fibre

 580 litres of gas - produced by 1t volatile Solids

 Average methane content - 81 percent

 Bio-diesel

 Moringa – potential feed stock for biodiesel

Industry

 Serve as an oil source for biodiesel

 Contains 70% oleic acid as a result methyl

Esters (biodiesel) obtained

 Exhibit high cetane number of 67, one of the

highest found for biodiesel fuel
Ecotypes with bold seed and high oil recovery

MO. 18 Yethakovil Nattuu Moringai 34.0%

(Kutchi moringai)
High Pod setting type
Thank you