Screening of Moringa oleifera seed sources for forage biomass, vegetative growth and leaf morphometric traits in subtropical climate
Screening of Moringa oleifera for biomass and growth traits
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Authors
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Ashok Kumar Dhakad
Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana
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Navjeet Singh
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
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Simrat Singh
Department of Floriculture & Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
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GPS Dhillon
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
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Sapna Thakur
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
Twelve cultivars collected from southern (tropical), west-central (semi-arid to arid) and northern Indian states (subtropical) were evaluated under field conditions for growth and biomass traits under subtropical climatic conditions of north-western India. North Indian cultivars (S4, S5 and S6) showed erect type of growth habit with light yellowish rough fissured bar, bitter leaf taste and brown petiole pigmentation. South Indian cultivars, i.e. Bhagya and PKM-1 yielded maximum biomass (16.55 t/ha and 16.13 t/ha in winter and summer harvests, respectively) due to more number of pollarded shoots and shoot length. The PAU cultivar (S4) was adjudged best for all leaf morphometric characteristics. Results of the investigation revealed that north Indian cultivars showed significantly better quantitative characteristics (leaf length, width, weight and number of leaflets). Morphological traits namely the number of pinnae, petiole length, petiole pigmentation, leaflet colour, taste, shape, dimensions and weight were recognized as chief discriminant morphological traits for identifying best morphotypes for future breeding programs.