HARVESTING AND PROCESSING OF MORINGA LEAF

HARVESTING AND PROCESSING OF MORINGA LEAF

Leaf harvesting

• After a period of 6 to 12 months, the tree will have reached 1.5 – 2.0 meters with older leaves which are more suitable for harvest
• Wash hands thoroughly with soap to maintain hygiene and avoid contamination
• Moringa leaves should be harvested at the coolest time of the day: early morning or late in the evening (5 – 7am and 6 – 8 pm)
• It is important to make sure that there is no dew or water droplets on the leaves before harvesting, especially in the morning, to avoid rotting during storage or transportation
• Harvest leaves by snapping leaf stems from branches
• It is recommended to harvest the shoots and leaves with a pair of shears, a sickle or a sharp knife
• All shoots should be cut at the desired height, i.e. 30 centimeters to 1 meter above ground
• The best time to start harvesting Moringa is in the month of April soon after the rains.

Harvesting Moringa leaves

Drying of Harvested Leaves

Do not dry harvested moringa leaves under the sun. Before harvesting, a farmer must construct a solar drier, it is also recommended that, the solar drier should be constructed close to the field to avoid contamination. Drying moringa leaf using solar driers prevents contamination by dust and other contaminants. Farmers are discouraged from drying the moringa leaves under direct sunlight because most nutrients are lost. Solar driers retain the nutrients which are good for health. Solar drying takes more hours than drying under direct sunlight. However, farmers are encouraged to use solar driers in order to have high quality moringa products. 

Construction of a solar drier for moringa leaves

Where a solar drier is not constructed, the farmer should construct drying racks that have a roof or shed. If the roofing is made of grass, put a black plastic sheet under the grass thatching to prevent grass twigs and pieces from falling onto the drying moringa leaves. Spread a plastic sheeting on the rack to ensure high quality product. This method of drying takes more days because it is air-drying; however, the quality remains high.

Sorting and Storage of Dried Leaves

When the leaves are completely dry, sort them by removing discolored leaves, twigs and other things that would degrade the moringa leaf quality. Keep green leaves only. Ensure hygiene practices are followed when sorting dried moringa leaves; like ensuring the place is well swept, washing hands with soap before sorting and using clean utensils and storage materials.

Store the well-sorted dry leaves in well-ventilated sack in a cool place. Make sure that the storage place is free of moisture and high humidity. Place the sacks on pallets.

Sorting dry moringa leaves

Milling and Storage of Moringa Leaf

Moringa leaf can be milled using portable disk mill or a local mortar and pestle. Ensure hygiene when milling in terms of area, utensils and personal hygiene. Store milled moringa leaf in airtight plastic bags or bottles or in hermetic bags. A better option is to package the milled moringa into recommended packaging materials like bottles or sachets.

Milling moringa leaf Milled moringa leaf (moringa powder)

Moringa leaf powder can be packed in plastic jars, paper bags, plastic bags and glass bottle jars

It is recommended that a farmer should consume Moringa product for nutrition purposes and sell some to make money. Children, especially under-Five, should be given porridge seasoned with Moringa powder to improve their nutrition requirements especially for vitamins, iron, and calcium.