Horseradish tree or malunggay in Tagalog, kamunggay in Bisayan and Cebuano, and kalamunggay in Mindanaoan, is a tree native to tropical Asia that has been cultivated for its edible leaves and young pods. Known for its nutritional content, oil is extracted to be used as food supplement. Malunggay has high content of calcium and some vitamin C. Calcium is the mineral that is being featured in malunggay. From noodles, ice cream, juice and bread, malunggay gains popularity because of its high calcium content. Aside from food-related demands, some farmers were ask to plant more malunggay trees in order to supply manufacturers of food supplement pills with good demands.
Supplying malunggay to manufacturers could be a fortune. Would you like to farm malunggay trees for them? If yes, is your soil ready? Remember, as I mentioned earlier, that malunggay contains high calcium but the question is where did the calcium came from? Is it by magic? Of course not, it should have came from the soil. The roots will absorb that calcium for the malunggay to survive. Soil with low calcium content will stunt the growth of malunggay. Most malunggay seedlings planted on low calcium wont live long and only few will survive with stunted growth, fewer leaves and seldom pod formation. If your soil is made up of limestone or lime soil, then congratulations, you are qualified to propagate malunggay trees.
In my older post entitled "1 Kilowatt Solar Power Project in a Farm" I mentioned a 4 hectare farm. Half hectare of the farm will be planted with malunggay trees. The farm is going to supply a downtown market for edible use and to a herbal supplement manufacturer in Cebu City for oil extraction. Malunggay trees can be planted either by seeds or stem cuttings. Most farmers plant malunggay tree's by stem cuttings. It can be done by cutting down stems into short stems which have 2 inches of diameter and planted vertically and spaced up to 50cm apart in a row.
But only few know that long stem cuttings can be planted horizontally which gives more sturdy and healthier grown trees. To do this, you will only dig a straight row with 5 inches deep and 5 inches wide. Place the stem cuttings horizontally in line with the dug row and cover with soil.
But only few know that long stem cuttings can be planted horizontally which gives more sturdy and healthier grown trees. To do this, you will only dig a straight row with 5 inches deep and 5 inches wide. Place the stem cuttings horizontally in line with the dug row and cover with soil.
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