Publication Date
1993
Description
For smallfarmers of forage legumes and grasses in Thailand, manual harvesting and cleaning of leguminous seeds have been widely practised because of cheap and available labour. Tropical grasses produce more seeds than can be harvested; hence it is necessary to find means to improve harvesting and processing techniques in order to obtain high standards of both quality and quantity of seed. The main obstacles could be due to prolonged flowering nnd grain filling periods of individual seedheads resulting in the uneven ripening of seeds at harvest. Premature seeds cause low yields and low quality nt harvests in many species. Flowering pattern, maturation criteria and seed shedding in some tropical grasses are discussed. Some details of different manual techniques in harvesting seeds of both legumes and grasses are also discussed. For smallfarmers, manual shaking techniques provide both high amount of seeds and high seed quality. A recent development, the tying of groups of adjacent seed heads into "living sheaves" before shaking seedheads together with the use of a seed net receptacle for collecting ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) seed improved harvesting efficiency. With this technique, farmers were able to obtain seed yields as high as 438 kg/ha at a production cost of US$ I/kg of seed. Manual seed harvesting of legumes by hand picking of ripe pods of Macroptilimn atropurpreum or other plants within the same group is normal practise in Thailand. Hand sweeping of mature stylo (Stylosanthes hamata). seeds from ground areas is known as "the cut and sweep method"; this method along with the improvement of two manual shaking screens, is discussed. Approximately 45 man days are required to collect clean seeds of 100 kg with two screens compared with the previous practice of 78 man days in 1977 with one manual shaking screen. The success in producing seeds of forage crops is partly due to the availability of cheap labour. Many farmers who acquired experience from producing forage seeds have developed their own pastures successfully.
Citation
Kowithayakorn, Lumyai and Phaikaew, Chaisang, "Harvesting and Processing Techniques of Tropical Grass and Legume Seeds for Smallfarmers" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 1.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session49/1
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Harvesting and Processing Techniques of Tropical Grass and Legume Seeds for Smallfarmers
For smallfarmers of forage legumes and grasses in Thailand, manual harvesting and cleaning of leguminous seeds have been widely practised because of cheap and available labour. Tropical grasses produce more seeds than can be harvested; hence it is necessary to find means to improve harvesting and processing techniques in order to obtain high standards of both quality and quantity of seed. The main obstacles could be due to prolonged flowering nnd grain filling periods of individual seedheads resulting in the uneven ripening of seeds at harvest. Premature seeds cause low yields and low quality nt harvests in many species. Flowering pattern, maturation criteria and seed shedding in some tropical grasses are discussed. Some details of different manual techniques in harvesting seeds of both legumes and grasses are also discussed. For smallfarmers, manual shaking techniques provide both high amount of seeds and high seed quality. A recent development, the tying of groups of adjacent seed heads into "living sheaves" before shaking seedheads together with the use of a seed net receptacle for collecting ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) seed improved harvesting efficiency. With this technique, farmers were able to obtain seed yields as high as 438 kg/ha at a production cost of US$ I/kg of seed. Manual seed harvesting of legumes by hand picking of ripe pods of Macroptilimn atropurpreum or other plants within the same group is normal practise in Thailand. Hand sweeping of mature stylo (Stylosanthes hamata). seeds from ground areas is known as "the cut and sweep method"; this method along with the improvement of two manual shaking screens, is discussed. Approximately 45 man days are required to collect clean seeds of 100 kg with two screens compared with the previous practice of 78 man days in 1977 with one manual shaking screen. The success in producing seeds of forage crops is partly due to the availability of cheap labour. Many farmers who acquired experience from producing forage seeds have developed their own pastures successfully.
