Download Systems of Moringa Cultivation In Tamil Nadu Moringa green pod is

Systems of Moringa Cultivation In Tamil Nadu
Dr.E.Vadivel Ph.D.,
Moringa green pod is a most popular vegetable of Tamilnadu and the crop is being
grown on commercial scale in about 7000 ha at Moolanur, Aravakurichi and Oddanchatram
region. South Indian diet is incomplete with out moringa. Homestead cultivation of perennial
Moringa as isolated single tree for pod as well as green leaves is being practiced almost in
every village since time immemorial. Oddanchatram and Aravakurichi are the major market
centers for trade in truckloads while small quantities of moringa green pods are being traded
every day at every Uzhavar shandi and local shandies of entire state,. Extremes of weather
conditions that prevail in Northern States during Kariff as well as Rabi seasons do not favour
the cultivation of Moringa. Hence truckloads of drumsticks are being transported from TN,
AP and Karnataka to Northern states. Though the moringa pod is demanded throughout the
year, the production is meager during winter and rainy seasons owing to the inadequate
thermal requirements of the crop. Various systems of cultivation are in vogue to produce
moringa but round the year production is yet to be made possible.
01.
Homestead Single tree system:
Jaffna variety of moringa is extremely drought hardy, capable of growing at
backyards, cattle sheds and waste lands. The variety is purely perennial in nature. The pods
are thin, slender and long. The trees are un pruned and allowed to grow as it is. Invariably, it
enjoys zero husbandry. The tree survives on waste water from the house, cattle shed and
rains. The variety is being propagated through limb cuttings. The limb cuttings are being
prepared during vegetative phase two months after the cessation of harvest. The tree is
frequently attacked by hairy caterpillar, which surrounds the trunk like army yet no plant
protection is being done. It bears once in a year. When heat stress starts in the month of
February- March, flowering also starts and the harvest of pods extends up to June-July. The
pods are nearly one metre long. 15 pods make one kg. The harvested green pods are used for
domestic purposes and to share with kith and kin. A minimal quantity is sold in the daily
shandies.
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Jaffna
02.
Moolanur
Border System of cultivation:
In the dry tract of Moolanur block, a unique system of cultivation of moringa is
undertaken by the farmers in which a perennial moringa eco type (Moolanur moringa) is
planted at the border of every plot where crops like cowpea, groundnut, tomato are regularly
grown as main crop. Such main annual crop is husbanded fully and the moringa in the border
(and along the bunds) enjoys the inputs and irrigation partially. The pods are short (30-40cm)
and bearing is profuse; this ecotype is extremely drought hardy. The tree sheds entire leaves
during extreme drought situation and revives when rain is received. The crop sustains the
harvest deep into rainy seasons (August-September) when no other moringa pods are
available in the market. The tree is maintained with single trunk and un pruned natural
canopy which is comparatively broader and dense. The pest disease attack is less and no plant
protection measure is followed; The pods are highly fibrous and shelf life is more compared
to the other types.
03.
Commercial Cultivation of Annual Moringa PKM-1 :
The variety PKM-1 released form Horticulture College & Research Institute,
Periayakulam , TNAU has revolutionized the moringa industry for the simple reason that it is
annual and can fit into any crop rotation. It has gained the status as regular husbanded
commercial crop. Though it is annual, it is amenable for ratooning twice. The perennial types,
which are vegetatively propagated, suffer lack of planting material and hence the spread was
less; PKM-1 is seed propagated and hence spread fast across the Southern States to begin
with and later to many of the African countries and tropics of entire globe with in a span of
five years in as much as the moringa was accepted as a crop to remove malnutrition world
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wide. The pods are fleshy 60 -70 cm long and the flesh between the seeds is full. 250 to 300
pods per tree per annum is the yield potential. Tree size is up to 2.5 to 3.0 m and amenable
for easy harvest. The pod is cut into small pieces for cooking in house holds while during
bulk cooking for mass, the pods are cooked whole and at the end of cooking ,the fibres are
removed from the dish. The pods are such succulent and handling is easy by the cooks. It is a
good source of Oil of Ben. On kernel weight basis 30 percent oil recovery is possible.
The vegetative phase of the crop ie seedling to
flowering stage (September to February in TN)
should enjoy minimal irrigation to prevent the
tree from becoming extremely succulent in
spite of the fact that the period falls into rainy
and winter season and water is adequate in the
wells. The reproductive phase ie flowering to
harvest stage (March to June-July) should
enjoy abundant irrigation at weekly intervals to sustain the pod growth and development but
the period falls into summer months when the wells are invariably dry and there is no
possibility for rain also. Hence the crop is successful where ever summer irrigation is
possible.
If sown late into November –December, the canopy growth will be less and the tree
becomes small statured and start producing flowers by March when temperature rises
irrespective of the size of the canopy. But the crop canopy becomes too weak to bear the
abundant pod load; If sown early ie by June , the plant becomes too large by March and tend
to become vegetative leading less flower production. Hence the ideal month for sowing or
ratooning the moringa is September.
Pinching :
Pinching is a mandatory operation in PKM-1 moringa cultivation; If not done, the tree
will grow excessively tall without branches and produce only few pods. The first pinching
starts when the seed sown crop grows to a height of 1 m. There after every week, the plant
undergoes regular pinching of terminals of primary secondary and tertiary branches and
beyond till it starts flowering after five months. The tree shall become globose with the
maximum bearing canopy. Ten pods make one kg. When allowed for seed production, nearly
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100 pods alone can be harvested, from the single tree as the seed maturation process inhibits
the flowering process. At a spacing of 2.5 x 2.5 m, 1600 plants can be accommodated in one
ha.
Double and triple planting of PKM 1 moringa :
Near Oddanchatram, the farmers prefer to adopt double planting (2 plants per bit)
making the spacing as 2.5m x 3.0 m. In few places triple planting also is practiced.
Double Planting
Triple Planting
Intercropping in moringa:
Crops like sesame, cucurbits, onion, black gram and bhendi are grown as intercrop
whenever the crop is planted anew. Moringa can be grown as intercrop in newly planted
coconut, mango and sapota orchards. The production of PKM-1 also is restricted to summer
months only and efforts are on to make it produce during winter and summer months.
Sesame
Bhendi
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Ratooning:
a. Under adequate irrigation situation:
The trunk is cut back (Foundation pruning) to 1m from ground level and new shoots are
allowed to grow during September, after the harvest of pods is completed from the direct
sown crop. Then the crop needs to be copiously irrigated to revive the growth. The number
of new sprouts shall be too many and at times more than 20. Leaving only three shoots to
grow as primary branches all the rest of the sprouts have to be removed at tender stage itself.
Under Adequate Irrigation
Under Inadequate Irrigation
b. Under inadequate irrigation situation:
The South West monsoon is not assured every year and during the months of July- August,
dry spell may prevail which does not support rapid re growth. Hence the whole crop is
allowed to wither without foundation pruning and fresh sprouts are allowed to emerge all
over the canopy after receipt of rains. In this system four ratoons are made possible. The
whole canopy becomes hardier year after year and becomes tolerant to major pests and
diseases. The pod size and length becomes smaller than the size of the pods from regularly
pruned crop.
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Moringa is also grown under
drip system. The yield is
almost 50 percent more than
conventional
system
of
irrigation. Four to five ratoons
are possible under drip system.
PKM-2 Variety Cultivation:
Cultivation processes are same as
that of PKM-1. The key differences
are: The pods are too long (2m) and
many times it touches the soil and
get bruised. The pods are not
straight and plumpy as that of
PKM-1 but wavy and thin; The
pods are difficult to get packed and
transported because of its unusual
length and wavy nature. The space
between the seeds in fresh pod is fully filled in PKM-1 and even after harvest the freshness of
the produce is maintained while in PKM-2, the space in between the seeds are constricted and
show wilting impression on the very next day of harvest. The only advantageous element is
its ability to bear almost ten months in a year and can be the best homestead variety.
04. Less significant systems of Moringa cultivation
In few pasture locations, exclusive leafy types are grown along with natural fence line
which produces predominantly leaves and only one or two pods per annum. The leaves are
being used as cattle feed. They are locally known as male tree because of less pods
production. There are ecotypes like Chavakachari, Puna murungai, Chemmurungai, Kodikal
murungai, Palamedu murungai and Kadu murungai which are less popular among the
farmers.
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Plant Protection:
At the full vegetative phase, leaf webber may pose a problem. If attended at initial
stage, control is easy with any contact pesticide. If not attended for a week, it spreads like
wild fire and checks the growth.
The fruit fly is major menace in Moringa cultivation. The fly lays eggs in the fully
opened flower and the hatched fly emerges out of the fruit when the pod is full grown . The
gummy exudates make the fruit un marketable. Control of fly during peak flowering stage is
advised .
Marketing System:
At
Aravakurichi
market,
25
drumsticks are bundled and such
bundles are the basic unit for fixing
price. But at Oddanchatram market,
the
drumsticks
are
packed
in
gunnies and sold on weight basis.
Bulk quantities are traded only by
weight. The moringa cultivation
sustains the lively hood system of
nearly two lakh farm families in
TN with an annual income of Rs.
80,000 to 1,20,000 per ha. There
is a demand for establishment of
Moringa dehydration unit for mass
consumption as many of the time
the farmers suffer due to low price
during peak seasons.
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