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Moringa forage production and quality system in Ecuador

Abstract:

The tropical region with abundant grass in the rainy season and scarcity in the dry season, requires cultivation such as the drought-resistant Moringa oleifera that offers productivity and quality. The objective of the present investigation was to study the production systems and quality of moringa forage during the dry season under sowing distances, cutting frequencies and regrowth height, in a randomized block design with factorial arrangement. With the distance of 20x10 cm, frequency of 70 days and the height of the regrowth of 40 cm, the variables were total fresh forage, total dry, stem /leaf ratio, mortality, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and degradability in vitro of dry matter. The highest total fresh and dry forage production was 53.45 and 13.09 t /ha, respectively. The best quality of forage was presented at 20x10 cm, 40 days and 30 cm, as it had the highest content of crude protein, the lowest content of neutral and acid detergent fiber, and the highest percentage of in vitro digestibility of dry matter, falling within of high quality forages, concluding that the treatments showed differences in forage production, within the forage quality ranges.