Influence of Planting methods and Pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam).

Abstract

Field trials were conducted during the 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons at Federal College of Forestry Mechanization farm, Afaka located (10^o 37¹N and 74^o 7¹E) in the Northern Guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria to study the influence of planting method and pinching on growth and vegetative yield of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam). The experiment consisted of six treatments, viz direct sowing+ pinching at 2 weeks after sowing (WAS); direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS; direct sowing+ no pinching; transplanting at 2 WAS +pinching at 2 weeks after transplanting (WAT); transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT; transplanting at 2 WAS + pinching at 2WAT; transplanting at 4 WAS + pinching at 2 and 4 WAT. The treatments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design replicated three times. The plant had significantly vigorous plant with stem diameter at 3 and 9 WAS. However, numbers of leaves, canopy spread and number of branches were not significantly affected by planting methods. Fresh vegetative yield were obtained with direct sowing + pinching at 2 and 4 WAS and transplanting at 2 WAT and pinching at 2 WAT respectively.