This is the way it should be: M. oleifera is an Indian plant, and though there is a lot of research on genetic and morphological variation, features of applied interest, etc. in many parts of the world, the fact is that India is where the really important research will take place. This is because the genetic diversity there is almost certainly higher than anywhere else on earth. Think of the situation this way. If moringa breeders wish to maximize some feature of interest, like protein content or anti-cancer activity, where is the best place to do so? You could start with the moringas in Ghana, or in Mexico, or in the Philippines; you will be starting with a very narrow range of variation. This means that the response to artificial selection will be slow and possibly limited. But if you start with a much wider range of variation, such as might be found in parts of India, then response to selection will be faster and possibly even exceed what could be accomplished elsewhere.
So, Garima will be sampling from across India and using the samples in the International Moringa Germplasm Collection to generate the first rough scale map of the genetic variation across Moringa oleifera. This is where all of our moringa research needs to begin. It will be a privilege and a pleasure to work with her over the coming years. As a first step, we headed out into the field, as I'll describe in subsequent posts.