Assessment of Moringa Varieties for Growth and Yield Characters

Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam) grows in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The present study on Assessment of moringa varieties for growth and yield characters was conducted at different farmers’ field at Manjakollai village of Bogalur block, Vazhuthur village of Mandapam block and Mummudichathan village of Nainarkoil blocks during 2018–19. The aim was to assess the performance of high yielding moringa varieties suitable for Ramanathapuram district. PKM-1, Bhagya (KDM-1) and local check (farmers’ practices) were used and cultivated 1.0 ha area. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with three treatments with ten replications. The observation on growth, yield parameters and economic traits were recorded and analysed statistically. The results revealed that PKM-1 variety recorded the highest values for the traits viz., plant height (4.62 m), number of braches per plant (5.0), number of pods per plant (88.25), pod weight (135.25 g), yield per tree (10.82 kg) and yield per ha (20.25 t/ha) followed by Bhagya (82.35; 8.50 kg; 18.75 t/ha) whereas the lowest values was found in farmers’ practices (75.26 cm; 65.25; 6.15 kg; 13.75 t/ha). Further, it was found that PKM -1 recorded the highest net returns (Rs. 41250/ha) with the B:C ratio of 3.11 followed by Bhagya (Rs. 37250/-; 2.96). However, the farmers’ practices registered the lowest net profit (Rs. 17500/-) and benefit cost ratio (1.87). The incidence of fruit fly observed the lowest in PKM-1 (11.25%) followed by Bhagya (15.87%) and the highest incidence was noticed in farmer's practices (23.25%). PKM-1 recorded the 47 per cent increased yield than farmers’ practices.