How to plant Sahjan

Plant Sahjan once the local rains have wetted the soil, in a sunny, well-drained spot where water never collects, using a healthy nursery plant, seed or a limb cutting; a home tree and an annual pod crop are planted differently, as described below.

When to plant

Months are a guide, not a rule. TNAU's lecture notes say the time of planting varies from region to region with the arrival of the monsoon, and Feedipedia advises sowing at the beginning of the rainy season on raised ground that does not waterlog. Plant once the local rains have wetted the soil and the site drains well.

A home or perennial tree (our guide by region): June–August in the east and the southern peninsula; May–July in the north-east; June–July on the west coast (on raised, well-drained ground); and July–August in the north-west dry zone, the northern plains, central India, on the Odisha and Andhra coast and in the Himalayan foothills. October–November applies only where the main rains come with the north-east monsoon, as on the Tamil Nadu coast. Where winters turn cold, monsoon planting gives the sapling a few months to grow before the first frost. Avoid planting in the coldest months, and in the hottest, driest weeks unless you can water reliably (practical guidance).

An annual pod crop (TNAU commercial advice): TNAU Agritech gives July–October as the planting season for annual moringa in Tamil Nadu, and TNAU's moringa book names September as the best sowing month under South Indian conditions, so that flowering does not coincide with the monsoon rains. These dates are for Tamil Nadu farm crops of varieties such as PKM 1 and PKM 2, not a calendar for the whole country.

Planting a home or perennial tree

1. Choose a healthy nursery plant from a nursery you trust. For a long-lived tree, ask for a local perennial type; annual pod-crop varieties such as PKM 1 are raised from seed and cut back low for repeated crops (TNAU).
2. Pick a sunny, well-drained spot, never where water collects. The stem is fragile (TNAU lecture notes) and branches can break in storms, so keep it clear of buildings, paths and power lines; about 3–4 m from a wall is our rule of thumb.
3. Dig a pit. TNAU uses pits of 45 × 45 × 45 cm, refilled with topsoil mixed with well-rotted farmyard manure or compost (TNAU lecture notes: 10 kg per pit; TNAU Agritech: 15 kg per pit for annual moringa). Adding neem cake on termite-prone land is practical guidance.
4. Plant at the same depth as in the nursery bag, without burying the stem.
5. Spacing: TNAU's lecture notes give 6 × 6 m for perennial types. In a home garden, one tree with room around it is enough.
6. Protect it with a tree guard against goats and cattle, and stake it in windy spots (practical guidance).

Perennial types are propagated by limb cuttings 90–100 cm long and 5–8 cm thick (TNAU lecture notes); moringa can also be raised from seed.

Annual pod crop (TNAU commercial guidance)

This is farm advice for commercial crops in Tamil Nadu, not a backyard plan. TNAU Agritech gives pits of 45 × 45 × 45 cm at 2.0–2.5 m either way, 15 kg of compost or farmyard manure per pit, and two seeds per pit sown 2.5–3 cm deep (or seedlings raised in polybags and transplanted after 35–40 days). Seedlings are pinched at about 75 cm to encourage branching, and after harvest the plants are cut back to about 90 cm–1 m for ratoon crops for about three years. High-density systems are closer still (for example 1.5 × 1.0 m for PKM 1, or 1.2 × 1.2 m for PKM 2). For a farm crop, ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) or state horticulture department for the package of practices for your area.