The aim of the research is the introduction to Armenia the new, non-traditional, valuable, and perspective “superfood” plant Moringa oleifera L., and a comparative study of its quantitative and qualitative productivity, evaluation of the effectiveness of growing moringa as an annual plant in outdoor hydroponic and soil conditions of Ararat valley. The obtained data will later serve as a basis for organizing the industrial production of moringa leaves in Armenia. The influence of different concentrations (750, 1000, 1250, and 1500 ppm) of nutrient solution recommended by Davtyan on the plant yield and on the accumulation of most important metabolites (proteins, carbohydrates, extractive substances, flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, etc.) was evaluated. The experiments were carried out in the vegetation experimental field of the Institute of Hydroponic Problems of NAS RA, in automatically nourished hydroponic equipments with 2.0 m2 surface area, with 6 plants m-2 density using an EBB & Flow hydroponic system. Plants were nourished 1-2 times a day with the nutrient solution. Soil culture was a control variant. In hydroponics, the minimum accumulation of plants’ fresh and dry leaves (1.4-1.5 times lower compared with the other variants) was observed at the lowest concentration of the nutrient solution. A subsequent increase in the concentration of the nutrient solution did not significantly affect the dry leaves yield (186.7-191.9 g plant-1). All hydroponic variants exceeded soil plants by 1.8-2.6 times with the mass of dry leaves. The least amount of protein was recorded in the plants nourished with the 750 ppm solution. The doubling of the nutrient solution concentration (from 750 to 1500 ppm) enhanced protein synthesis by 40%. In general, we can conclude that in outdoor hydroponic conditions, it is possible to obtain up to 1150 g dry leaves and about 350 g protein per hydroponic square meter in Ararat Valley conditions.
