Determination of optimal harvesting interval for Moringa oleifera in the first year production

Abstract

This experiment was carried out in order to determine the optimal time between harvests or in other words the harvesting interval (HI) for Moringa oleifera in the first year of production. The study consisted of 5 formulas for 5 different harvesting intervals of 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 days. Each harvesting interval was tested on the area of 24 m2 with 5 replications. The trial was designed in the randomized complete block. The results showed that when the harvesting interval increased from 30 days to 50 days, the yield of dry matter (DM) increased from 7.7 tons to 10.15 tons and that of crude protein (CP) went up from 2.65 tons to 3.475 tons/ha/year. When the harvest interval increased to 60 or 70 days, the yield of DM and crude protein went down. The elongated harvesting interval decreased the CP in DM from 34.42 to 31.71% but increased the crude fiber from 7.02 to 10.35%. The DM and CP yields with the intervals of 40 and 50 days were higher than those with other harvesting intervals with considerable differences; however, this differences were not significant between the two above intervals. Therefore, the best harvesting interval of M. oleifera was 40 or 50 days; the most optimal interval was 50 days.