Effect of Planting Density and Harvest Interval on the Leaf Yield and Quality of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) under Diverse Agroecological Conditions of Northern South Africa

Abstract

Smallholder livestock farmers who depend on natural communal grazing lands are particularly vulnerable to climate change as well as to food insecurity and should be encouraged to grow drought-tolerant fodder crops. Moringa oleifera is a highly valued plant, due to its exceptionally high nutritional content. This study was conducted at two experimental sites in the Limpopo province of northern South Africa to evaluate for the first time the effect of plant density and cutting interval on biomass production and chemical composition of moringa grown under two diverse climatic conditions. Four different planting densities (435,000, 300,000, 200,000, and 100,000 plants/ha) were arranged in a randomized complete block design and experimental samples were replicated four times. Data for biomass and gravimetric soil moisture content were collected each time the plants reached a height of 50 cm. Harvested leaves were analysed for chemical composition. An increase in the plant density led to elevated biomass production at both study locations, ranging between 527 and 2867 kg/ha. Moringa is capable of meeting all nutrient requirements of livestock depending on harvest time and location.

Growth and Biomass Production of Moringa Cultivated in Semiarid Region as Responses to Row Spacing and Cuts

“…Even the same, our experiment displayed no difference among the height of the plants. Mabapa et al (2017) observed similar results as the authors assessed the effect of the density of planting in the productivity of the moringa. The authors described that the height of the plant was not affected by the different spacings and that the higher the cultivation density, the higher the production of dry matter per unity of surface occupied.…”

Moringa oleifera: A Review Article on Nutritional Properties and its Prospect in the Context of Nepal

“…For selling the fresh leaves, they should be sold the same day since they lose moisture quickly after harvesting. Moringa can also be harvested at a height of 50 cm above ground level, which facilitates mechanical harvesting [5].…”

Agroforestry Trees for Fodder Production in Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…Lower biomass was harvested at 481 and 281 DAP at Syferkuil and Ofcolaco compared to the other sampling dates. These periods coincided with the winter months where moringa dropped significant amounts of leaves, (Extracted from Mabapa, Ayisi [18]).…”

“…It is also known forits resistance to drought and diseases and also establishing well under harsh growing conditions where most trees cannot withstand [17]. Moringa oleifera can be cultivated in all five districts of the Limpopo Province under diverse climatic conditions [18]. In comparison with two dominant indigenous tree species, Mopane (Colophospermum mopane) and Marula (Sclerocarya birrea), moringa was reported to be superior in photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance under drought conditions, indicating its potential for climate change mitigation [18].…”