Optimum Planting Density for Rainfed Production of Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius)

Spinach tree or chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifoliusMill.) is a fast-growing, leafy perennial Mesoamerican euphorbiaceous. The promising crop is an excellent source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Chaya has also a great potential as medicinal plant (cure of diabetes). Additionally, the shrub can be grown on a widespread number of soil types and tolerates diverse climatic conditions (as long as it is hot enough). This makes the spinach tree, which currently has no commercial relevance, one of the most underestimated and underutilized horticultural crops; a sustainable production system for chaya needed to be developed. In José María Morelos, central Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, from 2014 to 2015, a research was done in order to determine the optimum planting density for cropping this potential “super-crop”. In a randomized block system, a density of 10,000 chaya plants ha^-1 was compared to 5,000 plants ha^-1 (as monocrop and associated with Hibiscus sabdariffa L.). The management was based on local resources and rainfed. Clones of the locally popular so-called sweet chaya phenotype (few stinging hairs) were established in rows at 2 m equidistance (with 1 m, respectively 0,5 m distances in between the rows). The effect of these arrangements on the development of chaya was evaluated by measuring parameters regarding vegetative growth and development of foliar (harvestable) biomass. Especially in the second cropping season after establishing chaya, foliar size and number were superior at a density of 5,000 chaya plants ha^-1. As for further vegetative growth, a similar pattern was observed, with the exception of plant height, which was equal in both variants. In this arrangement, intercropping Hibiscus sabdariffa had no positive effect on both, foliar production and other parameters of vegetative development.