Moringa - a plant of interest - Why?

 

So what is Moringa and what is it to me?

Plant Name - Moringa - Moringa Oleifera

This is a tree, native to parts of Africa and Asia, coming from the plant family Moringaceae. The most widely cultivated species is Moringa Oleifera, native to the foothills of the Himalayas. M. Stenopetala, an African species, is also widely grown, but to a much lesser extent than M. Oleifera.  The name is derived from murungai, the Tamil word for drumstick, and the plant is commonly referred to as the drumstick tree.

Common names include moringa, drumstick tree (from the long, slender, triangular seed-pods), horseradish tree (from the taste of the roots, which resembles horseradish),ben oil tree or benzoil tree (from the oil which is derived from the seeds) and the miracle tree due to its multiple purposes (food, herbal medicine and water purification).

Moringa species grow quickly in many types of environments as a fast-growing, drought tolerant, deciduous tree, that can reach a height of 10–12m and trunk diameter of 45cm. The bark has a whitish-grey colour and is surrounded by thick cork. Young shoots have purplish or greenish-white, hairy bark. The tree has an open crown of drooping, fragile branches and the leaves build up a feathery foliage of tripinnate leaves.

The flowers are fragrant and hermaphroditic, surrounded by five unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white petals. The flowers are about 1.0–1.5cm long and 2.0cm broad. They grow on slender, hairy stalks in spreading or drooping flower clusters which have a length of 10–25cm.  Flowering begins within the first six months after planting. In seasonally cool regions, flowering only occurs once a year between April and June. In more constant seasonal temperatures and with constant rainfall, flowering can happen twice or even all year-round.

The fruit is a hanging, three-sided brown capsule of 20–45cm size which holds dark brown, globular seeds with a diameter around 1cm. The seeds have three whitish papery wings and are dispersed by wind and water.

In cultivation, it is often cut back annually to 1–2 m and allowed to regrow so the pods and leaves remain within arm's reach.

Moringa Oleifera - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9tdLn_Zk1M

Propagation

Moringa can be propagated from seed or cuttings.

Cuttings of 1 m length and at least 4 cm diameter can be used for vegetative propagation.

How to grow Moringa https://treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/how-to-grow

Direct seeding is possible because the germination rate of Moringa is high. Moringa seeds can be germinated year-round in well-draining soil.  Here is a video link to the Moringa Farm in Far North Qld - growing Moringa from seed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voUH0PV5RaY. My Moringa trees do manage to set seed pods, so I propagate my own seeds.

Growing Moringa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab2NWyGvuwA

Soil
The Moringa tree is grown mainly in semiarid, tropical, and subtropical areas. It tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, but prefers a neutral to slightly acidic (pH 6.3 to 7.0), well-drained sandy or loamy soil.

I have been growing my Moringa trees out in the paddock amongst other trees, but latterly I have set seeds and I am now growing in one of my vegetable beds.  This way with a little more love and attention I am able to increase the production rate.

Watering

Moringa is particularly suitable for dry regions, being drought tolerant once established. It can be grown using rainwater without expensive irrigation techniques. I have installed a simple drip irrigation in my veggie beds and water 2 to 3 times a week, depending on the water restrictions. I mulch well to help conserve the moisture in the soil and this seems to work with no problems to date. In waterlogged soil, the roots have a tendency to rot, so don't overwater.  Here in St George, the winter is our dry season, so if you receive plenty of winter rain, you may not need to irrigate regularly.

Position

Moringa is a sun and heat-loving plant, and does not tolerate freezing or frost.  Here in St George we do get frosts and so the part of the plant above ground may not survive.  We do not often get ground frosts, but just in case I mulch the veggie beds to keep the soil temperature a little warmer.  To date my Moringa trees which are more exposed out in the paddock have survived our winters. I am hoping the more protected Moringa trees in my veggie beds will do even better.

Pests and Problems

To date I have not had any pest problems nor any diseases. Bees and Ants seem to like the flowers, but this is the only insect activity I have seen in my plants.  GenerallytThe Moringa tree is not affected by any serious diseases in its native or introduced ranges.

Possible damaging agents could be aphids, stem borers, and fruit flies. In some regions, termites can also cause minor damage. For me this has not been a problem, however it pays to be vigilant.

Harvesting

Moringa can be grown for its leaves, pods, and/or its kernels for oil extraction and water purification. The yields vary widely, depending on season, variety, fertilization, and irrigation regimen. Moringa yields best under warm, dry conditions with some supplemental fertilizer and irrigation.

I have just harvested my Moringa leaves for the last time as we head into winter. They will reshoot again from the base in late spring, once the soil temperate warms up.  I harvest the leaves by hand on a regular regime, using pruning shears to pollard, coppice, and pruning my trees as required to promote branching, increasing production and facilitate harvesting.

Fruits (seed pods)

Depending on whether your tree flowers one, twice or all year round, the fruits can appear twice a year and so two harvests can occur. You may not get fruit in your first year.

Leaves

The leaves and stems can be harvested from the young plants 60 days after seeding and then up to another seven times in the year (if grown all year round). At every harvest, I cut the plants back to within 60 cm of the ground. In my regime, I am harvesting the leaves about every 3 to 4 weeks, however this may increase next year with the trees in the veggie beds as they will receive more attention than those in the paddock.

Storage

I air dry the leaves in a dark room and store in airtight containers.  I powder the leaves for use in my food.

Final Points

Traditional medicine and research

The bark, sap, roots, leaves, seeds and flowers are used in traditional medicine. Research has examined how it might affect blood lipid profiles, although it has not been shown to be effective at diagnosing, treating, or preventing any human diseases.

Extracts from leaves contain low contents of polyphenols which are under basic research for their potential properties. Despite considerable preliminary research on the biological properties of Moringa components, few high-quality studies on humans justify its use to treat human diseases.

Though there is conversations happening around the use of Moringa in chronic diseases, check out this link, http://theconversation.com/the-moringa-tree-enters-the-arsenal-of-treatments-against-chronic-diseases-84475. Another link to a superfood article https://www.kindearth.net/the-health-benefits-of-moringa-the-superfood-of-superfoods/.  So watch this space.

For me though, the fact that this plant is so nutrient dense and due to the poor quality of the normal western diet, maybe it is a case of good quality, nutrient dense food is medicine.  I have been consuming Moringa now for two years regularly in my diet and do not suffer the usual colds and flues that seem to affect others.

Other uses

In developing countries, Moringa has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and support sustainable landcare. It may be used as forage for livestock, a micronutrient liquid, a natural anthelmintic, and possible adjutant.

Moringa leaf powder was as effective as soap for hand washing when wetted in advance to enable anti-septic and detergent properties from phytochemicals in the leaves.  

Moringa seed cake, obtained as a by-product of pressing seeds to obtain oil, is used to filter water using flocculation to produce potable water for animal or human consumption. Moringa seeds contain dimeric cationic proteins which absorb and neutralize colloidal charges in turbid water, causing the colloidal particles to clump together, making the suspended particles easier to remove as sludge by either settling or filtration. Moringa seed cake removes most impurities from water. This use is of particular interest for being nontoxic and sustainable compared to other materials in Moringa growing regions where drinking water is affected by pollutants.

 

NOTE: Information for this blog other than the links provided above, have been sources from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa_oleifera on the 16th June 2019 and my own personal observations and experience growing Moringa in the semi arid, temperate climate of St George, Qld, Australia.