Effect Of Spacing And Harvest Frequency On The Growth And Leaf Yield Of Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam), A Leafy Vegetable Crop

Abstract

A series of experiments were performed to investigate spacing and harvest frequency effects on the growth, leafyield and quality of Moringa oleifera Lam at the Department of Horticulture of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. The spacing treatments (5 x 5 cm, 5 x 10 cm and 5 x 15 cm) and the harvest frequencies (30, 35 and 40 days) were arranged in a 3 x 3 factorial Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD). Five plants randomly selected from each harvest plot, were separated into stems, petioles and leaves and their fresh and air-dried weights were recorded. Samples of 100 grams from each plant part were analyzed for crude protein, carbohydrates, fiber, fat and ash contents. The results showed that, during a period of 60 days after sowing, plant height increased steadily reaching 87.76, 80.76 and 73.57 cm for the 5 x 5, 5 x 10 and 5 x 15 cm spacings respectively. Similarly average stem diameter during the same period reached 5.28 mm, 6.84 mm and 7.64 mm for the close, medium and wide spacings respectively. Average number of leaves produced per plant increased with time and reached 10.09 and 10.76 for the medium and wide spacings respectively. In the close spacing the number increased steadily but declined from 8.49 to 7.84 in the 8th week The wider spacing produced more leaves and higher shoot yield per plant than the medium and close spacings. But, the total shoot yield per hectare was higher in the close than the medium and wide spacings. Total shoot losses were higher in the close spacing than the medium and wide spacings. The studies showed that optimum spacing in a well-drained sandy loam soil was 5 x 15 cm (1.333 million plants/ha). After the initial harvest at 60 days after sowing, successive harvests should be made at 35 day intervals when it was found to be richest in nutrients, particularly crude protein content.