Miracle tree : Drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam)

Ak Bijaya Devi / M Chanchan *

Drumstick often known as “The Miracle tree” is a commonly grown vegetable in South India. Drumstick is a fast growing, drought resistant tree of the family Moringaceae and native to South West India. It is also grown in other countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Cuba, Jamaica and Egypt. India is the largest producer of drumstick with an annual production of 1.1 to 1.3 million tones of tender fruits from an area of 380 km2 (Radovich, (2011).

Among the States are Andhra Pradesh that leads both in area and production (156.8 km2 ) followed by Karnataka (102.8 km2 ) and Tamil Nadu (74.08 km2). India exports drumstick worth Rs 14.6 crore around the world.

Benefits: Drumstick is grown for its nutrient rich tender, but full grown pods, leaves and flowers and are used for culinary preparations. Drumstick improves fertility level among men, anti aging properties of skin, hair health, makes bones strong and aids weight loss, promotes overall health of women during pregnancy and lactation.

It is very good for persons with high blood sugar and high blood pressure, makes people strong and resistant to cold and infections. Tender leaves and flowers are comparable to that of colocasia in vitamins and minerals and have great role for combating malnutrition of urban and rural masses.

Seeds contain 38-40% of a non-drying oil which is useful in the manufacture of perfumes and hair dressings. The drumstick is very popular in southern India where it is used every day in household for preparation of sambhar, rasam or along with other vegetables.

Avoid consuming moringa as the chemicals found in the root, bark and flowers can be harmful to pregnant women. Composition (per 100g): Energy - 37 K cal Protein - 21 g Fat - 0.2 g Carbohydrate - 8.53 g Fibre - 3.2 g Calcium - 30 mg Iron - 0.36 mg Magnesium - 45 mg Phosphorus - 50 mg Potassium - 461 mg Sodium - 42 mg Zinc - 0.45 mg Manganese - 0.259 mg Selenium - 0.7 µ g Vitamin C - 141 mg Vitamin A - 4 µ g Thiamine - 0.053 mg Riboflavin - 0.074 mg Vitamin B6 - 0.12 mg Foliate - 44µ g Drumstick leaves contain 7 times the vitamin ‘C in oranges, 4 times the calcium in milk, 4 times the vitamin ‘A’ in carrots, 3 times the potassium in banana and 2 times the protein in milk.

The plant can be considered as a powerhouse of nutritional value. Taxonomy Moringa botanically Moringa oleifera Lam belongs to the family Moringaceae having a Chromosome no. of 2n=28. It is a deciduous perennial tree of about 10 m height with fragile and corky stem. The leaves are usually tri-pinnate with elliptic leaflets. Pods are pendulous and length ranges from 20 cm to 100 cm.

Seeds are trigonous with wings on angles. Flowers are produced on current season growth on large and erect panicles or monocladial cyme. Flowers were yellowish creamy white and sweet smelling. Individual flowers are bisexual, zygomorphic and pedicellate. Calyx and corolla consist of five sepals and petals. Androecium also has five stamens alternating with five staminodes. Gy-noecium has a superior, one celled and three car-pelled ovary containing many ovules on parietal pla-cen-tation. Stigma is truncate.

Flowering in drumstick varies from place to place and is greatly influenced by rain, temperature, humidity, wind, soil temperature, soil moisture etc. Peak period of flowering in central parts of Kerala is December-January while in southern part it is February-March and July-August with maximum flowering in February-March. Under Coimbatore and Bangalore conditions, flowering seasons are March-May and July-September respectively.

Anthesis continues throughout the day. Two anthesis peaks i.e., 2.00 p.m and 4.00 a.m. are noticed at Thiruvanan-thapuram. In most parts of Tamil Nadu, flowering is from 4.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. In southern part of Kerala, stigma becomes receptive one day prior to flower opening and continues with maximum receptivity on the day of opening and a sudden decline thereafter.

Related species of Moringa • Moringa arborea • Moringa borziana • Moringa concanensis • Moringa drouhardii • Moringa hildebrandtii • Moringa longituba • Moringa oleifera • Moringa ovalifolia • Moringa peregrina • Moringa pygmaea • Moringa rivae • Moringa ruspoliana • Moringa stenopetala Mark Olsen (Olsen 2014) grouped the 13 species of Moringa into three broad categories reflecting their form and geographic distribution:

1. Bottle trees. Massive trees with bloated, bottle shaped trunks, and small radially symmetrical flowers. Moringa drouhardii, M. hildebrandtii, M. ovalifolia and M. stenopetala are in this group. The branches and leaves of some of these such as M. drouhardii and M. hildebrandtii may grow only at the tops of the trees giving them a palm-like appearance.

2. Slender trees. Trees with a tuberous early stage and pink to cream colored, slightly bilaterally symmetrical flowers. Moringa concanensis, M. oleifera and M. peregrina are in this group.

3. Trees, shrubs, and herbs of Northeast Africa. The eight remaining species of Moringa are all from northeast Africa and are highly variable in form, ranging from herbs to trees. Some are tuberous as juveniles and become fleshy-rooted in maturity, while others are tuberous as adults. The flowers are bilaterally symmetrically and colorful. Moringa varieties may be broadly classified into two groups

Perennial types : In India perennial types are typically propagated from cuttings. These types have several characteristics that have constrained their use for in commercial production, and favored development and cultivation of annual varieties: long growing time before reaching maturity for production of pods, limited availability of suitable planting materials (stem cuttings), less resistance to pests and diseases and greater rainfall requirements. They may be unsuited for areas with short growing seasons or shortages of water.

Annual types: Periya-kulam-1 and Periyakulam-2 (PKM1 & 2), are largely the products of recent plant breeding research and have now replaced most the perennial varieties that previously dominated commercial production in India. They are seed propagated, offer rapid maturation, higher yields and greater adaptability to varied soil and climatic conditions.

Disadvantages of annual types compared with perennial types may include shorter lifespans, requirements for more frequent replanting and reduced genetic diversity varieties from India AMAR 32. This variety was developed by Amar Seeds Pvt. Ltd, in the Pune area of the western Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a high yielding, rapid maturing variety, ready to harvest within 5-6 months of planting. Anupama A variety developed by the public sector for drumstick production variety released from KAU, India.

Bhagya KDM1 A fast growing, perennial dwarf or semi-dwarf variety which can be maintained at a height of two to four meters by pruning and training. They flower after 100 to 110 days from planting and harvesting of the pods can begin in 160 to 180 days. The fruit length is of a desirable medium length of 45 to 75 cm. The trees produce 350 to 400 pods in the first year and 800 to 1000 in the second year, a yield of 17-20 tons per acre.

Chemmurungai A regional ecotype of the Jaffna moringa, which was a perennial type introduced into India from Sri Lanka. This variety is high yielding and bears pods throughout the year. The tips of its pods are red. Coimbatore 1 This variety is widely available in India and considered superior for drumstick production and quality. Drumsticks are from 45-60cm long with two harvests per year.

Tree yield product for eight to ten years. Coimbatore 2 This is now a more popular variety than Coimbatore 1 in Tamil Nadu with bulky, shorter drumsticks (25-35cm long). It is a high yielding produces 500 to 900 pods per plant. The production life of the trees is from three to four years. Dhanraj The trees grow to a height of 4 – 6 meters and come to flower in 90 – 100 days after planting.

The first harvest starts 160-170 days after planting each tree produces an average of 200-225 pods per year. Jaffna This traditional perennial variety has been grown in the Thangachimadam area of India from cuttings originally brought from Jaffna, Sri Lanka during the cargo service between India and Sri Lanka.

It grows very well in coastal sandy soils. A 40 year old tree produces 1500 drumsticks (pods) from March – June. It is not usually affected by pests and diseases (TANU 2021). KM 1. A TNAU recommended variety. It is also preferred annual variety in the growing areas of southern India. Kodikkal murungai It is a perennial ecotype grown predominantly in the betel vine growing areas of the Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu.

The trees are short statured with small leaves Konkan Ruchira It is a variety developed by the public sector. Moolanur It is is a perennial semi-dwarf dwarf ecotype cultivated by farmers in Tamil Nadu. The trees reach a height of 15 feet. The pods are 30-53cm long with soft flesh. One tree yields about 500-600 pods per year. The trees can be maintained up to 15 years without pruning Multiplex

It is a PKM1 and PKM2 hybrid dwarf with a maximum height of 4-6 meters. It produces pods twice a year with a yield of 200-350 pods per tree. The trees have wide adaptability Oddanchathiran (ODC) This famous drumstick variety being grown widely across India appears to have been developed with both public and private sector efforts.

ODC is favored because of its reduced water and fertilizer demand, high pod yield, taste, shelf life and consumer preference. The anticipated yield per plant is 200-300 pods and the total annual yield per acre is estimated to be about 25 -30 tons. Ratooned trees can be maintained for 10- 15 years. Every year the trees should be cut back 1 m from ground level (Thampalayagowder 2017 et al.) PAVM.

The PAVM variety was developed by a farmer in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu and is in wide use. It is a high yielding drumstick variety that starts yielding pods from the 5th or 6 th month of planting. The variety is propagated from by cuttings made by air layering. Periyakulam 1 (PKM1) TNAU released the variety in 1989. PKM1 is an early variety of bushy form and medium to dwarf size, reaching a height of 4 m in the first year after planting and it regrows rapidly after cropping.

The leaves are wide and dark green on the upper side and pale green on the lower side. This variety is suitable for leaf production in high intensity cultivation and may be the most widely planted variety for large scale plantation drumstick production. It can produce flowers within 3-4 months of sowing, and the first pods in just 6-7 months. Though the flowers are in clusters of 25–150 per cluster, only one pod usually develops, rarely 2–4.

The pods attain an edible size 65 days after flowering, are 45 – 75 cm long, of uniform length and color, tender even in late harvest, and good tasting. Their flexible form reduces breakage and they have an extended shelf life. Each tree produces 200-400 pods. Periyakulam 2 (PKM2) This variety is a higher yielding hybrid derivative of a cross between MP 31 (Eppothum vendran local) and MP 28 (Arasaradi local) and was released in 2000.

It is propagated from seeds. It produces an average of 240 fruits per tree with an average yield of 98 tonnnes/ha. The pods can be harvested in 7-8 months from planting and are long, about 125- 130 cm with a girth of 8.40 cm and an average weight about 280 g. They are fleshy (70% flesh), with lower fiber and good cooking quality.

Each tree produces about 220 pods per tree and they have an average pod yield of 98 tons per hectare. Rohit 1 A variety developed by a farmer, Balasaheb Marale, at Sinnar, Nashik District in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharastra. The first pods are produced 4 to 6 months after planting and the trees are productive up to 10 years.

A five year old tree produces 585 to 650 drumsticks, or about 45 to 50 kg per year. In irrigated, well-drained soils the yield is 7 to 12 tons per irrigated acre. The pods are dark green in color, 45 to 60 cm in length, the pulp is soft and tasty and the keeping quality is very good. Sarpan SD2 A medium sized, perennial variety developed by Dr. Nijagunadev Gaddagimath of Dharwad’s Sarpan Agri Horticultural Research Center and Sarpan Hybrid Seeds.

Its pod size ranges between 15-18 inches and they are fleshy, pulpier and soft-seeded. As a very high-yielding hybrid, the mature trees yield between 300-500 pods per plant. It has two flushes of pods, the first between December- March with heavy fruiting, followed with a smaller crop by June-July. Valayapatti A perennial ecotype type cultivated in and around the the Usilampatti, Andipatti areas of Tamil Nadu.

The pods are around 65 cm long, and weigh about 120 g. The yield is reported to be 1000-1200 pods per tree. Soil and climate Drumstick can be grown on a wide range of soils including sandy red and black soils but sandy loam soil is the best for its growth.

The soil should be rich in organic matter. The optimum soil pH is 6-7.5. It grows well at temperature between 25º-30ºC. It is highly susceptible to frost and high temperature exceeding 40º C causes flower shedding. It is well adapted to arid conditions. Propagation The drumstick is propagated by both seeds and stem cutting.

The perennial types are propagated by one year old long stem cuttings (90-100 cm length and 5-8 cm diameter). The annual types are grown from seeds. The seeds are sown in pits size of 45 cm3 and spaced 2.5 mx2.5 m. In each pit 10-15 kg FYM is applied before sowing. Two seeds are sown about 3 cm deep in each pit.

About 500-600 g of seeds are required for sowing in one hectare. Seeds can also be sown in small polybags and seedlings are transplanted in the field after one month of sowing. The stem cuttings of the perennial types are also planted in pits of 1m3 size, spaced 3-6 m apart.

The sowing season is done in June-July and November –December in Southern India, sowing can be done in June-July in most of northern region.

Manures and fertilizers

Three months after sowing, each pit is to be supplied with 100 g in each of urea and superphosphate and 50 g of muriate of potash and irrigated copiously. The plants are to be provided with 100g of urea alone, three months after first application. For ratoon crops the above schedule with 25 kg of farmyard manure is recommended. After care Seedlings reach 75 cm height, the shoot tips are to be nipped off to encourage side branches, the plants which are exposed to heavy winds, slender branches are liable to be damaged and break easily at the joints especially when fully loaded with fruits.

In such situations, mounds are to be formed around the tree trunk upto a height of 30-45 cm from the ground level. In the young plantation, intercrops like cowpea, or okra or groundnut can be cultivated till the moringa plants become dense and cover the interspaces.

Irrigation Generally drumstick does not require much irrigation and it is a drought tolerant crop. Irrigation is given in the pits before sowing and on the third day after sowing. Care should be taken to avoid moisture stress till the germination. Later on, irrigation is done once at 10-15 days according to the soil types. There should not be any water stagnation. Heavy watering causes flower shedding.

Plant protection : Drenching the soil around the plant with Copper oxychloride (2g/l) will prevent wilting of the plants. Spraying Duspan (3ml/l) is suggested for the control of hairy caterpillars. To control leaf eating caterpillar, spraying with Endosulphan (2ml/l) is advised.

The developing fruits are generally attacked by fruit fly and to control this, 20-30 days after fruit set. The spray can be repeated 15 days after first spray. However, spraying should be avoided two weeks before harvest of the fruits.

Harvest and yield The annual drumstick types come to harvest six months after sowing while the perennial types propagated by cuttings take 8-9 months for bearing. The fruits are ready for harvest 60 days after flowering. The period of harvest extends 2-3 months and each tree bears 200-250 fruits in annual types. In perennial types, the yield will be generally low (80-90 fruits/tree/year) in the first two years of bearing. Then it increases to about 500-600 fruits/tree/year in the fourth and fifth year and the pod are harvested mainly in March-June. The trees of the perennial type are retained for about 12-15 years.

Ratooning

For ratooning annual types are cut back to one meter height from ground level after harvesting the main crop. These ratoon plants developed new shoots bearing four to five months after ratooning. Likewise three ratoon crops can be taken.

At each and every ratoon crop plants are supplied with 100g of Urea, 100g of SSP, 50g of MOP along with 20-35kg of FYM and irrigate. Topdress plants with 100g Urea again three months after first application.

Annual varieties of Moringa: PKM 1 PKM 2 References: Radovich, T. (2011).
Farm and Forestry Production and Marketing Profile for Moringa. C.R. Elevitch (ed.) S.Thamburaj and Narendra Singh (2000).
Textbook of Vegetables, Tubercrops and Spices. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi Pp. 400-405 Vishnu Swarup (2012)
Vegetable Science and Technology in India. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana New Delhi. Pp- 574-575.