Sesame Harvest 2023

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We harvested the rain-fed sesame crop from the far-out plot [id: 373] this week. It took us 3 days to finish the harvest* from 4 acres, but we managed to harvest most of the crop in time without seed loss [shattering] due to over-ripening.
*Sesame is harvested when the leaves turn yellow and start drooping and the seed capsules are green/lemon yellow by pulling out the plants.

Once the bundles come to the drying floor, they are stacked and “smoked” as a traditional post-harvest pest control method and left to mature till the seed pod is ripened. After 8 days the plants are taken out of the pile and dried in the sun. During the drying process the seed capsules will open and the seeds fall out on the floor. Once all seeds are on the floor, the plant stalks are removed and the seeds are dried, cleaned and stored in plastic airtight containers and flushed with CO2 because sesame seed is easily infested by weevils and bugs during storage. Before processing or sale, seeds are washed and re-dried.

Looking back over this season of rain-fed sesame crop, there was just enough rain to get the seeds germinated and plants established in the early stage and a few light rains to develop the crop. Rain-fed post monsoon crops are quite risky and it is very important that we get the right amount of rain at the right time or one can easily loose the crop when rains fail or are too heavy.
As plot 373 was tilled for the first time for the cultivation since many years, we did not observe the overwhelming growth of weeds and avoided weeding altogether. We protected the field with a solar powered electric fence to keep out the pigs, deer and village cows/goats.
Sesame at Annapurna is processed into ‘Gomasio’ to make the cultivation economically viable. Gomasio is a dry condiment/seasoning made using toasted sesame seeds and Himalayan salt (Classic Blend) and another with addition of pepper to the original classic blend. This is a low-sodium, nutritious, umami-rich seasoning that you can complement with a variety of foods, especially salads or simply plain rice and ghee!

Sesame capsules (pods)
Ladies coming back with the harvest.

Other Crops and Paddy Updates

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We finished harvesting the first paddy (CO43) and the straw was put into bales. We had to rush the bales to the store because there were predictions for rain.
The next variety (called Annapurna – used for complete rice) is ripening and can be harvested soon. The last variety; our red rice “Poovan samba” is coming into the heading stage in the fields and will be harvested last.

  • CO43 harvest getting ready for the storage.
  • Straw bales waiting to be picked up.
  • Manjula in Annapurna fields.

As the paddy season passes; we have a sesame and mustard crop getting ready for harvest on the far out plot(id 373) which was sown in the newly planted gliricidia plantation. This crop was sown in the end of November as a post monsoon crop. These are rain fed crops and need little water only.

  • Plot 373 in early December 2022
  • Sesame | Mustard field, January 2023
  • Sesame in the flowering stage.
  • Mustard flowers.

Here’s the new tractor implement – mulcher in action, preparing a field (plot 392BB south) to sow green gram + cowpea + ragi mix under irrigated conditions. This is an experimental plot where we work in alleys between Gliricidea rows with micro sprinklers. We hope to expand this type of cultivation in the years to come.

  • Shredding gliricidea alleys before plowing.
  • Shiva prepares the field for sowing.
  • Micro sprinklers between alleys.


Pests & Predators | Paddy Fieldnotes Dec 2022

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Early sown varieties, Co43 and Bhavani (seasonality test) are past flowering and currently are in the ripening stage. As explained in Principles and Practices of Rice Production by S K De Datta,
“At the time of anthesis (blooming or flowering), the panicle is erect in shape. The panicles flower begins at the top, middle and lower thirds, occurring on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd day after stage – heading. Rice is highly self-pollinated. The florets open from 0900 to 1500 depending on variety and weather. They open early on bright days and late on humid and cloudy days. The stamens elongate and anthers move out of the flowering glumes as pollen is shed. The pollen grains fall on the pistil, a feathery structure, through which the pollen tube of the germinating grains will extend into the ovary. The lemma and palea then close.”
Further, the panicle takes 25 to 35 days to fully ripen. Grain development is a continuous process in the sequence of flowering and the grain undergoes distinct changes before it matures fully in 3 stages – The milky stage, Dough stage, and Yellowing & ripening stage. The milk stage is observed when a milky white substance begins to accumulate, usually seven to 10 days after heading. The dough stage occurs about a week later as the milky substance begins to change and become the texture of bread dough. When rice grains first become firm, they are at the physiological maturity stage.

Rice panicles drooping down as the grain ripening progresses.

At this stage, we have the next round of pests circling the paddy fields – small birds – Finches and peacocks (Leaf rollers and stem borers are the first ones). At Annapurna, we host a large number of migratory paddy birds at the beginning of the paddy season who eat insects through the puddled fields where at the times young paddy seedlings become collateral damage. The paddy landscape includes tall, medium-sized trees scattered lightly throughout to host the diversity of birds to perch and nest on; which also keeps a fair check on the paddy insects-pest population. We also have a large number of peacocks on the farm who similarly serve Predatory skills as well as beauty.
With the paddy ripening, we now observe small birds flocking around the ripened panicles to pick grains. In the past season we observed peacocks keenly visit fields once the crop is fully ripened and lodged (on the ground), but this season we find them frequently visiting our semi-short variety – CO43 fields pecking on drooping panicles.

Top ripened grains grazed by birds.

We manage to keep deer and wild boars away from the paddy with the electric fence which is also one of the elements that add to paddy economics. But the peacocks and birds may need a different solution, we will be busy quantifying the damage and exploring ways to manage such pests in the coming weeks.