KE MAKALENG 219575483

Dr Nghondzweni

EFFECT OF MORINGA LEAF EXTRACT

AS A BIOSTIMULANT FOR TUBER
DEVELOPMENT AND YEILD OF POTATOES
INTRODUCTION
Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the fourth most ranked important food crop after wheat,
rice and maize. It belongs to Solanaceae family and genus Solanum. The consumption of
potato is growing as the population is exponentially increasing, It is an annual herbaceous
that is used as a vegetable and to manufacture starch dextrin, alcoholic beverages and
processed food such as French Fries, chips, snacks and flakes (Cheune et al.,2022)

Moringa leaf extract obtained from the Moringa oliefera belonging to the Moringaceae
family serves as a cheap, eco-friendly bio stimulator as the leaves are rich in mineral
nutrients, protein, vitamin A and C, amino acids, sugar, riboflavin, phenolics and
phytohormones such as cytokinin, auxins and gibberellins. It enhances natural processes
and benefits of the nutrient uptake and efficiency and tolerance to the biotic and abiotic
stress.
CHEENE, V.M., BONGA, L.N., ALEN M.N., ISA, B.A., OLANYI, A.F.,2022. Moringa
oelifera Leaf Extract as a Biostmulant to Supplement Synthetic Fertilzers. Agronomy 11:
219-265.
South Africa is one of the countries affected by global warming thus
causing climate change and potato crop is more susceptible to climate
induced stress such as high temperatures such as drought that affects
the soil moisture, nutrient uptake resulting in reduced tuber size,
number and growth of the tubers. The growth cycle is shortened
causing the tubers to be small and have irregular shape (Adrian, 2007).

The heat stress delays the tuber initiation and bulking resulting in
malformation of the tubers. There is an increase of potato crop and
food security thus the farmers use the excessive fertilizers to increase
the production while reducing environmental impact and human health.

ADRIAN, D., 2007. Potato Facing Global Challenges: How, How Much,
How Well. Retrieved from:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11540-018-9386-z#citeas
Research Problem
• There is no enough information on how does the moringa leaf extract
affects the tuber development and yield of potatoes. As abiotic
factors such as water stress due to drought affects the quality of the
tuber quality and yield potatoes.
• Reducing the use of excessive use of agro chemicals that are
detrimental to the environment and human health, instead to
encourage farmers to use bio stimulant that is cheap and safe to use.
OBJECTIVES

• TO EVALUATE THE RESPONSE OF POTATO PLANTS

TO DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS AND THE
APPLICATION OF MORINGA LEAF EXTRACT
• TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF MORINGA LEAF
EXTRACT ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF POTATOES
UNDER DIFFERENT GROWING CONDITIONS
METHODOLOGY
• The seed tubers will be purchased at Loubach Seeds and Feeds at Pretoria to perform the experiment at
Tshwane University of Technology experimental farm. The seeds will be planted in a well drained soil
structure that loose, fine without any compacted layers to ensure oxygen and moisture retention. Plant the
seed tubers in furrows within rows, using a shovel, hoes, prows to form the furrows and put the seeds 10-
20 cm deep and 40 com apart and cover them with soil (Culver et al., 2013).
• Fresh moringa leaves collected at Plantland nursery and mix 30g instantly after collections with 300mL of
distilled water in a household belnder for 15 minutes and filter the solution through a muslin cloth. The
MLE aqueous solution will be diluted with distilled water for different concentrations with distionct ratios
of (1:10, 1:20, 1:30).
CULVER, M., FANUEL T. & ALBERT, Z.C., 2013. Effect of Moringa Extract on Growth and yield of Maize
and Common Beans. Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences 3 :055-062.
The MLE solution will be sprayed on the leaves of the crop under greenhouse and
field conditions after sunset or before sunrise to prevent evaporation and spray
every after two weeks from the stage two growth which is when the tuber bulking
and stop spraying when the tubers reach maturation stage that’s when the vines
turn yellow and loose leaves that’s when the application stops then harvest the
potatoes by digging up gently using a shovel. Other seed tubers wont be applied
with moringa leaf extract, it will only be watered everyday. It will be used as a
control to compare the growth of the potato crop (Alisdair & Lothar, 2001)

ALISDAIR, R. & LORTHAR W, 2001. Molecular and Biochemical Triggers of Potato Tuber
Development. Plant physiology 127(4), pp1459-1465.