Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) is widely recognised as a multipurpose crop suitable for human and animal consumption, medicinal, and industrial purposes, making it attractive for introduction into new ranges. Its extracts have been found to have beneficial impacts on various crop species and biological activity against multiple weeds, making their use in agriculture promising. However, concerns have also been raised about moringa’s potential to negatively impact the growth and development of other cultivated and non-cultivated plant species, especially in areas where it has been introduced outside its native range. To understand the positive and negative interactions between moringa and other plants, it is essential to investigate its allelopathic potential. Allelopathy is a biological activity by which one plant species produces and releases chemical compounds that influence the reproduction, growth, survival, or behaviour of other plants with either beneficial or detrimental effects on the receiver. Plants produce and release allelochemicals by leaching, volatilisation, or through root exudation. These biochemical compounds can affect critical biological processes such as seed germination, root and shoot elongation, photosynthesis, enzymatic activities, and hormonal balance in neighboring plants. Therefore, allelopathy is an important driver of plant composition and ecological interactions in an ecosystem. This review explores the positive and negative allelopathic effects of moringa extracts on other plant species, which may help to inform decisions regarding its introduction into new biogeographical regions and incorporation into existing farming systems, as well as the use of moringa plant extracts in agriculture.

Indoor vertical farms (IVFs) provide the conditions for producing seedlings of good quality. However, their effectiveness depends on the daily light integral (DLI) and nutrient management. This study examined the effects of DLI and nutrient solution electrical conductivity (EC) on tomato and bell pepper seedlings produced in an IVF or a greenhouse. Seedlings in the greenhouse were harvested 45 (tomato) and 55 (bell pepper) days after sowing, while those in the IVF were harvested after 30 and 40 days, respectively. The optimal EC was 2.0 for tomato and 2.4 dS m⁻¹ for bell pepper. Tomato seedlings showed a decreased shoot-to-root ratio in the IVF. Tomatoes in the IVF reached 241% higher total biomass than greenhouse seedlings at 31.7 mol m⁻² d⁻¹, while bell peppers had an increase of 333% at 39.6 mol m⁻² d⁻¹; however, a DLI of 23.7 mol m⁻² d⁻¹ was enough to cause an increase of 153% and 264%, respectively. Nutrient concentration decreased in IVF seedlings, which was attributed to a dilution effect; in contrast, the nutrient content of tomato and bell pepper were highest when grown in the IVF when irrigated with solutions at 2.0 dS m⁻¹ and a DLI of 31.7 mol m⁻² d⁻¹.

Moringa oleifera Lam. (moringa) is a desirable crop for intensive cultivation because of its multiple uses in human and animal nutrition, medicine, and ecological applications. Its resilience and adaptability to various environmental conditions make it an attractive option for farmers seeking alternative cash crops that can thrive in challenging agricultural environments. While its resilience is well documented in tropical and subtropical climates, limited information exists on its growth dynamics and adaptation mechanisms to prolonged cold stress, which constrains its expansion and cultivation in temperate regions. This review synthesises current knowledge on cold stress adaptation mechanisms and the coordinated functional roles of primary and secondary metabolites in response to cold stress in plants, with a focus on moringa. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding morphological adjustments to cold stress in moringa plants, limited attention has been given to elucidating the physiological, metabolic, and genetic regulatory mechanisms underlying its cold-adaptive responses. Moreover, despite the potential roles of primary and secondary metabolites in coordinating protective functions against cold stress in plants, specific metabolites and their functional roles against cold stress remain insufficiently characterised in moringa. While genetic improvement and selective breeding have improved key agronomic traits, including growth rate, biomass yield, and nutritive value, breeding for enhanced cold stress tolerance remains insufficiently explored. Future studies should focus on integrative metabolite profiling, as well as the identification and selection of cold-tolerant provenances, to support the development of cold-tolerant gene pools to expand the cultivation range of moringa into temperate regions.