Criteria for selecting Moringa oleifera cultivars for seed bank grow-out

Motis, T.N. and H.D. Sobetski. 2024. Criteria for selecting Moringa oleifera cultivars for seed bank grow-out. Acta Hortic. 1394, 31-36.
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1394.4

Keywords: branching, canopy, height-to-width, PKM-1, PKM-2, STX-2, cultivar

Abstract:
Maintaining varietal purity is an important consideration for seed-growing entities. As Moringa oleifera is a cross-pollinating species, there is potential for mixing of genes between cultivars. To keep cultivars isolated, moringa seed growers may need to limit the number of and be selective of the cultivars they produce on site. Selection criteria will depend on crop traits valued by clients. In 2022-23, ECHO Inc. seed bank personnel conducted a field trial in southwest Florida to screen three cultivars (PKM-1, PKM-2, and STX-2) for their potential to produce leaves within easy reach of harvesters on the ground. Two 1-month old seedlings of each cultivar were randomly assigned and transplanted to field plots in each of four replications. Resulting trees were pruned to a height of 0.9 m at 111 days after transplanting and later evaluated for canopy traits. At 220 days after pruning, PKM-1 trees had a wider leaf canopy (168 cm) than that of PKM-2 (93 cm) and STX-2 (106 cm) (P=0.0230). PKM-1 also had a lower (P=0.0048) height to width ratio (1.7) than PKM-2 (3.2), with the height-to-width ratio of STX-2 being similar (1.8) to that of PKM-2. PKM-1 trees produced more (P=0.0204) branches per tree (5) than PKM-2 (3) and STX-2 (3). Dry leaf biomass (39-83 g tree^‑1) 224 days after pruning was similar between cultivars. Of the cultivars screened, the branching and canopy traits of PKM-1 were best suited to the production of readily accessible leaves. Findings contribute to an understanding of criteria for choosing cultivars for seed multiplication.