1. Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
The Effect of Moringa Leaf Spray on the Yield of Vegetable Crops Edward Berkelaar, Ph.D. with Jenny Johns ECHO, Durance Road, North Fort Myers, FL USA

2. Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
Introduction
Last 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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3. Materials and Methods experiment 1:
Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
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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4. experiment 2: cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) 6 treatments
Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
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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5. moringa spray : moringa planted densely (~10-15 cm spacing)
Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
moringa spray :
moringa planted densely (~10-15 cm spacing)
top cm of plants cut (fresh growth)
blended to a paste with water
filtered through cloth and paper
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6. Results : Experiment 1 - radish
Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
Results : Experiment 1 - radish
Treatment % increase
control
low moringa (p=0.26)
medium moringa (p<0.0001)
high moringa (p=0.21)
- increased yield due to heavier radish roots
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7. Results : Experiment 1 - bean
Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
Results : Experiment 1 - bean
Treatment % increase
control
low moringa (p=0.045)
medium moringa (p=0.022)
high moringa (p=0.047)
- increased yield due to higher numbers of beans per plant
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8. Results: Experiment 2 - cowpea
Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
Results: Experiment 2 - cowpea
spraying with moringa did not result in increased yield
% change verses non-sprayed plants
% change verses water-sprayed plants
Treatment % change
moringa
moringa (appled less freq.) 0.02
Leucaena
low Leucaena -1.6
Treatment % change
moringa
moringa (applied less freq.) 12.4
Leucaena 13.1
low Leucaena 10.6
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9. Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
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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10. Development potential for Moringa products October 29th - November 2nd, 2001, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
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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