Drumstick belongs to the Family Moringaceae, Genus Moringa, Species Moringa oleifera. Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to the Indian subcontinent and used extensively in South and Southeast Asia. Common names include moringa, drumstick tree (from the long, slender, triangular seed-pods), horseradish tree (from the taste of the roots, which resembles horseradish), or malunggay (as known in maritime or archipelagic areas in Asia). It is widely cultivated for its young seed pods and leaves, used as vegetables and for traditional herbal medicine. It is also used for water purification. India is the largest producer of moringa, with an annual production of 1.2 million tonnes of fruit from an area of 380 km2. Even though drumstick is cultivated in countries like Philippines, Nigeria and Kenya, the crop cultivated in India is superior in quality and quantity. India contributes to about 80 per cent of world drumstick production. The total area is estimated as 43,600 ha with a production of 22,000 tons per annum. The crop is commercially cultivated in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Odisha and in Kerala, drumstick cultivation is limited to home gardens to meet the family requirement. Fruits, leaves and dried products are mainly exported to China, USA, Canada and South Korea. Despite their nutritious edible parts, Moringa products are sometimes classified as “famine food”, consumed by humans in times of food scarcity. Moringa vegetables as a human food are often linked with low social class status. As such, M. oleifera is still not well exploited and hence considered as underutilized in Malawi. In this review article on Origin, Domestication, Taxonomy, Botanical Description, Genetics and Cytogenetics, Genetic Diversity, Breeding of Drumstick are discussed.
