Forage production from Moringa oleifera

Abstract

Moringa is a good alternative for substituting commercial rations for livestock. The relative ease with which Moringa can be propagated through both sexual and asexual means and its low demand of soil nutrients and water after being planted, make its production and management comparatively easy. Its high nutritional quality and better biomass production, especially in dry periods, support its significance as livestock fodder. Moringa planted at ICAR-IGFRI, Jhansi, at 50×50 cm spacing gave 80-130 tonnes green forage/ha in 4 cuts at 45 days harvest intervals in 2nd year of planting. The leaves contains 21.53% crude protein, 24.07% acid detergent fiber (ADF) and 17.55% neutral detergent fiber (ADF). One of its main attribute is its versatility, because it can be grown as crop or tree fences in alley cropping systems, in agroforestry systems and even on marginal lands with high temperatures and low water availabilities where it is difficult to cultivate other agricultural crops.