Drumstick cultivation
Drumstick (Moringa oleifera) is an important perennial multipurpose vegetable grown widely in India. Popularly known as ‘Ganigana’, ‘Mullakkai’ ‘Murrugi’, ‘Sahjan’ and ‘Muringa’ its tender leaves and immature or half-mature fruits are eaten. It is a delicacy in the south Indian households. It is most popular for its distinct, appealing flavouring fruits. The flower buds are also used for culinary purposes. Besides, it has medicinal value also.
Climate and soil
It is most commonly grown in tropical or semi-tropical conditions. Bush types grow in all types of soils. Sandy red soil or black soil is well-suited. A pH of 6.0–7.5 is ideal.
Varieties
The varieties of drumstick are classified as annual and perennial ones. The annuals are short-duration crops. These are propagated by seeds, while perennials by stem cuttings. Important varieties are:
Chavakacheri Muringai
An ecotype of Jaffna muringa, it bears pods as long as 90–120cm.
Chemmurungai
Another ecotype of Jaffna muringa, it flowers and fruits throughout the year, yielding a heavy crop. The tips of the pods are red. The tree is medium-sized, bearing long pods.
Jaffna type
This is a Yazphanam type muringa introduced from Sri Lanka. Its fruits are 60–90cm long with soft flesh and good taste. This type can yield 400 pods from second year of planting which increases to 600 pods/ tree/ year third year onwards.
Kattumurungai
Released from Anna farm of the state Agriculture department located at Kudumiyamalai in Tamil Nadu, it is an annual moringa developed through pure line selection. Propagated by seeds, it yields around 400–500 fruits/plant annually. The fruits are only 25–30cm long. As the plants are like shrubs, harvesting is very easy. After first harvest, the plants are headed back leaving 1m above ground and used as ratoons. Ratooning is done for 2–3 years. It starts bearing from 6th month onwards.
Kodikalmurungai
It is cultivated predominantly in bekel vine gardens of Tiruchirapalli districts of Tamil Nadu. The pods are shorter (20–25cm in length) and thick fleshed. The pods and leaves are very tasty. Trees are short statured with smaller leaves.
Palmurungai
It is preferred for its thick pulp and tasty pods.
PKM 1
An annual bush type drumstick, it flowers 90–100 days after planting. It yields about 275 fruits annually, the total fruit weight being 33–35kg. The fruits are 65–70cm long 6.3cm in diameter, weighing 160g. It can be ratooned for 3 years.
Punamurungai
This variety is grown in the home gardens of Tirunelveli-Kattabomman and Kanyakumari districts.
Yazphanam Muringa
It is grown commercially in Salem and Madurai districts of Tamil Nadu as a single crop either irrigated or rainfed. Propagated by stem cuttings, it comes to bearing within 8–9 months, the yield being 250–300 fruits/plant annually. It is grown along fences in households where there is no proper irrigation and fertilization. These types are grown as perennial in homestead gardens, and can last for more than 5 years.
Cultivation
Sowing
June–July and November–December are well suited for sowing. About 500g seed is enough for a hectare.
Pits of 45cm × 45cm × 45cm size are dug at 2.5m × 2.5m spacing one week before planting. The farmyard manure @ 15kg/pit is applied. A 60cm circular irrigation basin is made around the pit. The pits are closed.
Two seeds are sown 3cm deep in each pit in the centre. Seeds germinate 7–9 days after sowing. Seeds can also be sown in polythene bags. One-month-old seedlings are planted.
Crop production
Perennial types are propagated vegetatively. One-year-old stems are used for propagation. Stem cuttings, 1–1.35m long and 14–16cm in girth are used. The cultures are planted in pits of 1m × 1m × 1m, 3–5m apart.
Manuring and fertilization
Organic manures @ 75kg/plant can be given to 1-year-old plants and above during June in trenches 1m away from plants. First dose of fertilizer containing 45g N: 16g P2O2 : 30g K2O/plant should be applied 3 months after sowing, whereas second dose of 45g N 6 months after.
Aftercare
Plants with overgrown branches cause difficulty in harvesting. Therefore pruning is essential at the time of harvesting. The plants are topped at 75cm height. This results is bushiness. If required they can be topped once again at 4 feet height.
Weeding
The field should be maintained weed-free for initial 2 months. As plants grow to a height of 3 feet, there is no need for weeding. If necessary, weeding can be done.
Intercropping
For first 3 years, chilli, brinjal, tomato and cotton can be grown as intercrops, depending on the location. The spacing is adjusted accordingly.
Harvesting and Postharvest management
If there is more flower clustering on the tree then the yield is low. An individual inflorescence carries 19–126 flowers, average being 53. But it results only in one fruit. Normally 3–5 fruits/inflorescence are obtained. Fruit set ranges from 1.0–2.8% The percentage fruit set varies from tree to tree. The fruit length varies from 25–100cm. Each fruit weighs around 230g containing 10–20 seeds each on an average.
Annual drumstick starts bearing from 6th month onwards, providing 200 fruits/plant/annum. Its average yield is 52 tonnes/ha.
The ratoon crop is obtained by pruning its trees to a height of 1m after harvesting. The plants start bearing 4–5 months after heading back. Thus 3 ratoons can be taken. After ratooning NPK along with 25kg farmyard manure are applied.
A number of value-added products can be prepared if its availability is in excess. They are moringa pickle, dehydrated moringa, moringa powder and moringa flesh mesocarp powder
Regds
