High Density Chaya Production

Plants Chaya
#1

Hi Folks,

Have any of you tried closer planting Chaya at higher plant density/ closer together than the documents generally recommend? I recall recommended spacings of 60 cm and have read an article where they planted it at densities of 5000 and 10000 plants per ha… But I’m keen to hear if anyone has tried it at densities much higher than that… Say… 4x, 10x higher… More…

I know there are documents out there that recommend incredibly high plant densities for moringa, around 1,000,000 plant/ha (and higher) and that studies have been done showing the correlation between high plant density and high leaf production (with increasing mortality after harvest as well).

I helped set someone up with a bit of drip irrigations some weeks ago… And we planted two rows of Chaya really close- approx every 15cm while the other rows we planted it around 80cm apart with a faster growing crop they eat as a vegetable here (leaf hibiscus) in the gaps to use the space till the chaya establishes.

I am wondering if anyone has already done research on Chaya planted at higher densities. I don’t want to re-invent the wheel.

If you’ve planted Chaya at closer densities - please let me know.

I will post some pics of the Chaya at differ densities in coming days. My thoughts with the higher density is to be able to harvest sooner - and get more biomass.

Chaya from what I’ve observed produces really well but can be slow to establish… Slower to first harvest than moringa for example which one can harvest at around 75 days and then around every month - 40 days after that.

Could one plant Chaya way more intensively (closer together), as people do moringa - harvest sooner and if the density is too high… Just pull up some plants - give them away, expand the planted area later on if things get crowded?Or is it just gonna be a waste of time and planting material?

Intensively grown moringa is normally harvested by coppicing to 20cm or so… Does Chaya respond OK to that level of abuse? Normally I just pull leaves off and once I’ve chopped it down to 4 feet or so to give away planting material (cuttings) … I read somewhere that it prefers pollarding to coppicing.

Whatcha reckon? Could it cope with the root competition and lower harvesting cuts that higher plant density might require? Do you think higher plant density would translate to earlier harvest and higher yields?

1 Like
#2

@Noah_Elhardt do you have thoughts? You’ve done moringa at high intensity and have a lot of experience with chaya! I’m curious about what you think about Dave’s ideas and questions.

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#3

You have to work backwards from your marketing objectives. If you have a lot of land and plant at higher density you may use up your planting material if it is limited and limit your overall production. If you have irrigation you may want to plant at closer density or mulch to improve your efficiency of utilizing the irrigation. I would not recommend coppicing because that sets the plant back too much and will limit your production. If you plant closer together then they will begin to shade one another between them and will not lose much overall production by removing some of the tops or leaves. Planted further apart the production will be limited the more severely you cut them and you will want to wait longer to start to harvest them and harvest less at a time. One good idea is to trim only one side of the plant rather than cutting the top off once they are touching one another or if you need more height. Nipping the top will cause them to branch which is necessary if you have them planted farther apart. But nipping the top will make it more difficult to reach the height you want to achieve quickly. Planting closer together you will not need so much height to get a really decent harvest.

#4

I experimented with planting chaya as a hedge, and the results were excellent! One of the major benefits noticed was that the chaya plants did not grow too tall, making it incredibly easy to harvest leaves from all sides. This compact growth habit was high yielding, I found but since it was not comparison research at it beginning, these should only be tacked as observations. There is need to do this research scientifically so that we do not just rely on observations . I’ll try to upload a photo soon to share with you!"

#5

The optimum would be a pyramid structure for every plant, touching at the bottom to the neighboring plant (the branches on the x configuration would be allowed to grow longer before nipping which makes the corners of the pyramid), which would be more productive than a hedge. If multiple rows the same would be true but you should cross check the plants in the rows so they are growing into the neighboring row’s void.