Abstract
In order to establish proper methods of harvesting seeds of Green panic (Panicum maximum var. trichoglume) and Kazungula setaria (Setaria anceps STAPF cv. Kazungula), heading time head length, seed yield, numbers of filled and germinated seeds on the tillers developed at different times were investigated. The results are as follows: 1) In two species, heads did not emerge at the same time even from the tillers developed nearly at the same time but did emerge irregularly over long periods of time. For Green panic, most tillers which constituted peak of heading developed before the 2nd of July (about nine leaf stage of the main stem), while for Kazungula setaria, those developed before the 9th of July (about fifteen leaf stage of the main stem). 2) For Green panic, head length and seed weight per head were more affected by the time of heading than the time of tillering, and were larger in case of early emerged heads. For Kazungula setaria, however, those were affected by both the time of tillering and heading, and were considerably larger in case of early emerged heads of early developed tillers. 3) For Green panic, the numbers of filled and germinated seeds per head were largest in the heads which constituted peak of heading, while for Kazungula setaria, the numbers of those seeds were largest in the heads emerged at the time and during three days before the peak of heading. Therefore, in order to obtain the largest numbers of filled and germinated seeds it is suggested that the harvesting time should be determined with the criteria as measured by these heads.
