The Effect of Moringa

Leaf Spray on the Yield of

Vegetable Crops

Edward Berkelaar, Ph.D. with Jenny Johns ECHO, N. Ft. Myers, FL 33917 USA

IntroductionLast year our organization learned of some research done on moringa in Nicaragua by Nikolas and Gabriele Foidl of BIOMASA. In that study, yield increases of 25-30% were reported for onions, bell pepper, soya, maize, sorghum, coffee, tea, chili, and melon.

The primary goal of our project is to replicate the experiments done in Nicaragua under the different different growing conditions we have in Florida. We would also like to determine how leaf sprays made from moringa compare to leaf sprays made from other species, and whether moringa sprays are still effective if they are made from dried or fermented moringa leaves.

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Materials and Methods

• experiment 1:– radish (Raphanus sativus) and bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

– 4 treatments• control: water & surfactant spray

• low moringa: 12.5 g moringa in 100 mL water with surfactant

• medium moringa: 25 g moringa in 100 mL water with surfactant

• high moringa: 50 g moringa in 100 mL water with surfactant

– 25 mL of solution applied per plant

– 9 replicates for radish and 10 replicates for bean

– spray applied every two weeks

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• experiment 2:– cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)– 6 treatments

• control: water & surfactant• not sprayed• moringa: ratio of 25 g of moringa in 100 mL water with surfactant• moringa applied less frequently• Leuceana: ratio of 25 g of Leuceana in 100 mL water with surfactant• Leuceana: ratio of 12.5 g of Leuceana in 100 mL water with surfactant

– 25 mL of solution applied per plant– 10 replicates per treatment– sprayed every two weeks except treatment 4

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• moringa spray:– moringa planted densely (~10-15 cm spacing)

– top 30-40 cm of plants cut (fresh growth)

– blended to a paste with water

– filtered through cloth and paper

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Results: Experiment 1 - radish

Effect of Moringa Spray on Radish

050

100150200250300350400

cont

rol

low-m

or

med

-mor

high

-mor

spray treatment

rad

ish

yie

ld (

g fr

esh

w

eigh

t)

Treatment % increase

control --

low moringa 26 (p=0.26)

medium moringa 94 (p<0.0001)

high moringa 23 (p=0.21)

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- increased yield due to heavier radish roots

Results: Experiment 1 - bean

Effect of Moringa Spray on Bean

010203040506070

control low-mor

med-mor

high-mor

spray treatment

bean

yie

ld (g

fres

h w

eigh

t)Treatment % increase

control --

low moringa 56 (p=0.045)

medium moringa 65 (p=0.022)

high moringa 56 (p=0.047)

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- increased yield due to higher numbers of beans per plant

Results: Experiment 2 - cowpea

• spraying with moringa did not result in increased yield

Treatment % change

moringa -2.2

moringa (appled less freq.) 0.02

Leucaena 0.68

low Leucaena -1.6

% change verses non-sprayed plants

Treatment % change

moringa 9.9

moringa (applied less freq.) 12.4

Leucaena 13.1

low Leucaena 10.6

% change verses water-sprayed plants

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Summary

• compared with spraying with water, spraying with moringa enhanced yield of radish and bush bean

• results from experiment 2 suggest that cowpea yields were not increased in moringa sprayed plants compared to non-sprayed plants

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Future experiments• compare effect of moringa spray applied to plants growing in

soils with differing levels of fertility

• compare effect of different methods of making moringa sprays– from dried or fermented leaves

• test effect of moringa sprays on various other crop species

• test effect of moringa against leaf sprays made from other plant species

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