The Moringa plants get a central stem from which several smaller branches sprout. The bark is grayish-brown in texture and glossy.
In our surroundings, there are many god gifted plants, but due to illiteracy, we cannot cultivate them. One of them is a plant named Moringa, which has been present in Sindh and Punjab for centuries. Moringa is cultivated worldwide for commercial purposes. Moringa plants grow quickly and can achieve lengths of up to 10 metres within a year.
Because of the high nutritional content of its leaves, stems, roots, and seeds, it is known as a magical plant all over the world. Its extraordinary benefits were explored when it was used to meet the needs of meals during the Senegalese famine.
There was a time when there were 13 species of it in Pakistan, but now only two of them remain, including Moringa oleifera, which has the most importance worldwide.
This tree shows the best performance in the areas where the temperature is 18 to 48 centigrade and the annual rainfall is 250 to 1500 mm per year. Taking into account its basic requirements, cultivation in the desert areas of Sindh and South Punjab can earn a lot of foreign exchange.
Prof. Dr. Shehzad Basra, who has been guiding people through the platform of “Moringa for Life” for a long time, is credited with researching its charming properties and raising public awareness about its cultivation in Pakistan. According to his research, the original homeland of this plant is South Punjab, from where it reached other parts of the Indian subcontinent and South Africa.
The Moringa plants get a central stem from which several smaller branches sprout. The bark is greyish-brown in texture and glossy. The leaves are complicated, with several leaflets on every leaf. The leaflets are slender, oval in shape, and brilliant green.
It flowers once a year, and the flowers later mature into pods. The pods of one tree can yield eight to ten thousand seeds, from which moringa can also be cultivated as a crop. The seed is planted at a distance of 1 foot, as in cotton and maize.
Nutritionists and food scientists around the globe marvel at its charismatic qualities. According to research, moringa has 17 times more calcium than milk, 9 times more protein than yoghurt, 4 times more vitamin A than carrots, 12 times more vitamin E than almonds, and 15 times more potassium than bananas.
The flowers are cooked as a vegetable; the beans are made into pickles and curries, while root pickles are popular in Pakistan. A famous milk company in Japan has been making baby milk for a long time called Morinaga milk, which is rich in nutritional properties.
Fifty gram leaves are enough to meet the nutritional needs of the day. A poor man who cannot afford expensive fruits and meat can easily meet his nutritional needs by consuming Moringa. When the plants reach three feet, they are cut from the top, and then the leaves can be used as fodder at intervals of 10 to 20 days.
By using moringa leaves as fodder for cattle, there is no need to use expensive seed cake. According to research, the use of moringa leaves, which are highly nutritious, increases the weight of cattle by 32% and milk production by 65%.
Moringa has extensive and diverse medicinal properties, making it a useful tree for both conventional and modern medicine. With its countless health properties, it is a promising component in the creation of newer medications and therapies.
It is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-ulcer, anti-bacterial, and antifungal remedy. It treats cardiovascular disorders, boosts the immune system, promotes eye health, bone health, skin care, wound healing, and acts as a liver protector. Its drugs are now being consumed at higher levels in Pakistan.
Moringa begins to produce seeds with 40% oil content within two years of sowing. 1 kg of seeds yields 250 ml of edible oil of cooking oil grade. Increasing moringa production in Pakistan can save hundreds of millions of rupees wasted on edible oil.
The Moringa plants benefit pharmaceutical firms, cosmetic companies, lubricant industries, oil factories, biodiesel plants, and many more industries across the world. Environmental contamination is a big issue that has been raised as a result of chemical pesticides.
Seeing as the juice of moringa leaves contains insect repellent characteristics, we may use it as a spray to protect the field from insects and pests.
Moringa plants can also be grown by farmers around their fields, as it has deep roots so it does not harm the fertility of the soil, but its leaves fall on the ground and increase the fertility.
Kitchen gardening of moringa is being done in western countries, and its various parts are used in daily food. Due to its charismatic properties, we can plant it in our homes, roadsides, and parks.
For large-scale cultivation of Moringa, the government has to introduce various projects and create awareness among the farmers so that, apart from agricultural development, a lot of foreign exchange can be earned.