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New Device Speeds Seed Harvest

During several years of tackling small scale restoration projects in central Texas, I have become convinced of the importance of harvesting diverse mixes of wild seed. Steep hillside savannas, for example, which are a prime restoration objective in our area, may include up to 400 species, only a small fraction of which are available commercially. Under these circumstances the only way to get seed is to collect it, and the economics of hand harvesting seed may then become the factor limiting both the size and the quality or species diversity of restoration projects. In the course of our work, we have found that, while it is possible to hand-harvest seed of a few species in fairly large amounts, other species are more difficult and may be slighted in large-scale projects. This, then, poses a challenge to the restorationist: How to scale up without sacrificing species diversity in the resulting community? After exploring various ways to increase harvest efficiency, I constracted a small, hand-held mechanical reaper consisting of an aluminum box and canvas collecting bag attached to a store-bought, gas powered, stringline weed trimmer. The box is made by bending a 35cm by 180cm (14" ×72") piece of 0.1cm (.04") thick aluminum into an approximately triangular box, which is open front and back and braced with aluminum tubing. The shaft of the trimmer goes through the top of the box, with the cutting head placed just inside the front opening of the box, near the center of the bottom. During operation the seed heads that are cut by the spinning string-line are funneled by the box into the canvas bag attached to the back opening of the box. The result is a reaper that is highly maneuverable and fairly light, with the box and bag adding only 3 kg (6 lb.) to the weight of a commercial string-line trimmer (approximately 6 kg.) Operators can harvest any place they can walk, collecting individual species or habitat mixes, in most cases easily avoiding undesirable species. The bag holds about 30 liters (one bushel) of cuttings, which are removed through a drawstring opening at the back of the bag, and placed in nylon mesh bags. Unless the weather is wet, or the cuttings are especially damp, the material is left to dry in the storage bags. Field records for each bag include a list of collected species checked off in one of four columns labeled dominant, significant, small and trace. Collection rates naturally vary considerably, but for many typical harvests, the operator must stop every 10 to 30 minutes to empty the canvas bag. In central Texas we are harvesting from April through January, with the peak seed production for many species occurring either in early to mid-summer or in late fall. During rainy spells when other work stops, the material is shredded, stems and all, to release seed, break up the seed heads of composites, and reduce the bulk and particle size of the mix. No attempt is made to separate seed Scaling up without sacrificing selectivity: the grin reaper in action on a Texas grassland.