millet seed saving selection isolation hybrid open pollinated purity drying bajra jowar
How do I save my own bajra or jowar seed correctly for next year?
VVishnu Jadhav8mo ago · 297 views
3 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓8mo ago
You can save seed of open-pollinated millet varieties, but not of hybrids, because hybrid seed saved from your crop will not breed true and yield drops sharply in the next generation, so for hybrid bajra and jowar buy fresh certified seed each year. For open-pollinated varieties, select healthy, true-to-type, disease-free plants with good well-filled heads from the middle of the field, harvest them separately, thresh gently, dry the seed well, and clean out chaff and shrivelled grain. Treat and store the seed dry and pest free in labelled airtight containers, and replace it with fresh certified seed every few years to maintain purity and avoid disease build-up like downy mildew in bajra. Isolation from other varieties during flowering keeps the seed pure. Confirm whether your variety is a hybrid or open-pollinated before saving.
BBhaskar8mo ago
I learned the hard way that saved hybrid bajra seed gives a poor mixed crop. For open varieties I pick the best heads and it works fine.
DDnyaneshwar Kale7mo ago
One caution: do not save seed from a field that had downy mildew or smut, because the disease carries over. I refresh with certified seed every few years to keep purity and avoid building up disease, as the expert note says.