Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Harvesting, Yield, storage and grading

Harvesting and Yield
The crop takes 50 to 60 days for flowering after sowing and takes about 80 to 90 days for maturity after flowering, or the crop duration varies from 70 to 150 days depending on the variety. The harvesting should be done when the crop has turned yellow and most of the leaves, except the top ones, have fallen off. The grain will shatter if the harvesting is delayed beyond this stage. The harvested plants are stacked in small bundles. After drying them in the sun for 4-6 days, the grains are separated by beating the bundles on the threshing floor or by using a mechanical thresher. The grains are cleaned by winnowing and then stored.
The average grain yield would be around 10-15 q. Yields as high as 30 q/ha can be obtained under favourable conditions and good management.

Storage
The dried and clean seeds are filled in bags and stored in damp-free, aerated stores. On a commercial scale, the seeds are cleaned with the help of a vaccum gravity separator or a spiral gravity separator. To get good prices and easy marketing, the produce should be graded and stored properly. The seed can be stored for 2 years. For seed purposes, the seeds could be stored in 700-gauge polyethylene bags for higher viability and vigour with 9% moisture content after treatment with Thiram, at an equibrium relative humidity of 40%.

Grading

Fenugreek seeds are graded as 'Special', 'Good' and 'Fair' and the grade specifications (%) are as follows.

	Special	Good	Fair
Inorganic foreign matter	0.25	0.50	1.00
Organic foreign matter	0.50	1.50	2.50
Damaged, discoloured and weevil infested	0.50	3.00	5.00
Shrivelled and immature green	1.05	3.00	5.00
Moisture	10.00	10.00	10.00