| AGF Moringa PKM1 Cultivation | |||||
| CULTIVATION PRACTICES FOR MORINGA FRESH FRUIT (DRUMSTICK) PRODUCTION | |||||
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| PITTING: | |||||
| The seeds of PKM1 moringa may be directly dibbled in the pit to ensure accelerated and faster growth of the seedlings. A plant spacing of 2.5 x 2.5 m (plant to plant & rows to rows) between tows and seeds should be adopted, giving a plant population of 1600 plants/ha. When planted in single rows along with irrigation channels, a spacing of 2m is sufficient. Dug out pits of 45x45x45 cm or 30x30x30 cm in size and the pits may be left as empty upto one week. Then fill the pits with manure & surface soil at the proportion of 50:50. About 15 KGS Manure is required per pit. | |||||
| SOWING: | |||||
| Sow one or two seeds in centre of the filled pits at 3 CM depth. The seed germinates 7 to 12 days after sowing. Treatment of moringa seeds with Azospirillum cultures at the rate of 100 g per 625 g of seeds before sowing resulted in early germination, and increased seedling vigour, growth and yield . NOTE: The seeds may be dibbled in POLY BAGS and then 30 days old seedlings shall be used for planting. It can be used to replace for filling the non-germinated pits |
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| IRRIGATION: | |||||
| The filled pits should be watered, before sowing the seeds. Then watering shall be done in 3 days after sowing. Then water the small plants once in 7-12 days as per the soil, rainfall condition. Growing Moringa PKM1 plants may not require watering except during hot weather when they may be irrigated once a week. PKM1 moringa responds well to irrigation and the yield can be doubled by drip irrigation as compared to rain-fed crops. Drip irrigation at the rate of 4 lit/day can enhance yields by 57 per cent as compared to rain-fed crop. | |||||
| PINCHING: | |||||
| Pinching the terminal bud on the central leader stem for three times is necessary when it attains a height of 75cm (two months after sowing). This will promote the growth of many lateral branches and reduce the height of the tree. In addition, pinching reduces the damage due to heavy wind and makes harvesting much easier. Early pinching of growing tips carried out 60 days after sowing is better than pinching 90 days after sowing for obtaining a higher yield. If required, again the pinching shall be done when the plant attains 4 F heights. | |||||
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| WEEDING: | |||||
| Weed must be removed upto 2 months from sowing. When the plant attains 3 F heights, weeding shall be done once in one month or when required. | |||||
| RATOONING: | |||||
| In PKM1 moringa, when the harvest is in, the trees are cut down to a height of one metre above ground level for ratooning. These ratoon plants develop new shoots and start bearing four or five months after ratooning. Three ratooning operations are recommended during the production cycle (at month n° 9, 17 and 25), after each harvest is over. During each ratooning operation, the plants are supplied with the recommended level of N, P and K nutrients along with 20-35 kg of FYM. | |||||
| INSECT PESTS AND DISEASES | |||||
| Developing fruit are damaged by the fruit fly Gitona distigmata which can be effectively managed by adopting integrated pest management (IPM) measures. The package includes (i) Application of Fenthion 80 EC 0.04 per cent during the vegetative and flowering stage. (ii) Application of Nimbecidine 0.03 per cent at 150 ppm during 50 per cent fruit set and 35 days after (iii) soil application of Neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) @ 2 lit per tree at 50 per cent fruit set and (iv) weekly removal of affected fruit. | |||||
| HARVEST AND YIELD: | |||||
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PKM1 moringa types are seasonal in terms of fruit- bearing and the crop comes to harvest within six months. The harvest period extends for 2-3 months.
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