Indigenous Seed Harvesting

and Rangeland Restoration

USAID/IUCN Programme on
Applying Ecosystem Approach
in the Orange-Senqu Basin
 BACKGROUND
Large areas of grassland in Lesotho have become degraded over time due to
inappropriate grazing and livestock management. In addition, over-zealous
cultivation of marginal lands has lead to large areas of cultivated land being
abandoned and no longer planted to crops. These abandoned lands do not
recover to resemble natural grassland, both in terms of species composition or
productivity. The species composition remains poor, with low diversity, species
richness and cover. These old lands are frequently the primary sites for the start of
erosion.

Restoration efforts in Lesotho have been commonly focused on physical

rehabilitation works and in some areas, reseeding with commercially available seed.

The current re-seeding efforts have generally focused on the use of the grass
Eragrostis curvula. This is an indigenous grass, which does occur naturally in the area.
Eragrostis curvula seed is available commercially and in large quantities. However,
this is seed that has been collected in various parts of South Africa, and bred for
particular traits like productivity and palatability so that it can be used as a pasture
grass in commercial agriculture. This means that the Eragrostis curvula seed
purchased is unlikely to be similar to the local varieties, and may be less well
adapted to the local (cold) environment with its short growing season and long cold
period. In addition, Eragrostis curvula is not very palatable, unless fertilized with
nitrogen fertilizer in particular, as it is usually when grown as a pasture grass. In natural
veld, it is usually not a preferred grass. It has been used as rehabilitation species in
the Cathedral Peak region of the KZN Drakensberg, with some success from a soil
stabilization perspective. However, where it has been successfully established it
dominates as a near mono-specific stand for decades. Research results indicate that
a pure stand of Eragrostis curvula resists invasion by other species. This could be
viewed positively if that is the desired state, or negatively if the desired state was a
greater level of species diversity.

Currently, there is not much alternative, because of a lack of locally adapted grass
seed available. So, the use of Eragrostis curvula as a re-seeding species is positive
from a soil stabilization perspective, but is not the best option from a biodiversity
option and arguably not the best option for livestock production.
There is a possibility of using indigenous grass species for re-seeding. This has been
done successfully in other parts of the world in various rehabilitation efforts. The most
common examples of success are from the US prairie grasslands, where there have
been successful native species reseeding efforts for decades. There has been some
success in South Africa, with promising results on the restoration of open cast mines.
There are several advantages, some problems and some opportunities with such an
approach.

THE ADVANTAGES
- The local species are adapted to the local environment;
- Several species can be established, which is desirable from a biodiversity
perspective;
- A diverse range of species is likely to offer greater soil protection than a
single species;
- A diverse range of species is likely to lead to better livestock production
than a single species (such as Eragrostis curvula); and
- It could open up significant opportunities for training and developing local
expertise, with the potential of developing small-scale entrepreneurial
opportunities.

THE PROBLEMS
- Indigenous grass seeds are difficult to harvest, store and plant and the
whole process would have to involve careful management to improve the
success rate;
- Indigenous grass seeds are often slow to germinate and establish;
- There is currently no source of indigenous grass seed available, other than
"improved" pasture species such as Eragrostis curvula and a few others;
and
- There would a requirement for specific expertise.
 OPPORTUNITIES
- The development of local expertise;
- The development of small business opportunities;
- The improvement of grazing potential, biodiversity and soil stability; and
- The generation of interest and funding from a range of potential funders,
because such a project could potentially generate widespread interest if
successful.
Such an approach, if adopted, would take time to develop and implement, and
would not replace the current seeding with Eragrostis curvula, but could rather
complement it. In the current project, areas of grassland are due to be rested for up
to 3 years to allow for recovery of the grassland. These rested areas should produce
reasonable amounts of seed of a variety of grass species, which could be harvested,
dried, stored and planted on trial sites, preferably old abandoned crop lands.

Such an approach would be ambitious, and if successful, could become a high

profile conservation flagship, putting communities at the forefront of conservation,
while looking after livelihoods.

AIMS
Ecological, environmental and agricultural
- Restore biodiversity,
- Reduces soil erosion,
- Improve livestock production potential.
Community
- Involve local communities in restoration of degraded areas,
- Develop unique expertise among local communities,
- Develop potential business opportunities.
 DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN
Grasses usually flower from December through to February/March, with different
grasses flowering at different times of the season. Grazing animals have to be
excluded from the area to be harvested, to ensure that all palatable species
produce seed. The process of flowering involves:
- Development of flower,
- Pollination,
- Development of seed,
- Ripening of seed,
- Seed fall.

The process of the development and ripening of seed has to be monitored carefully
to ensure that seed is harvested at the right time. Once the seed is ripe, it can be
harvested in a number of ways on a small scale:
- Using gloves, the seed can be plucked from each inflorescence and placed
in a suitable bag.
- Flowing stems can be cut using a sickle or other suitable blade and
collected.

Once the seed is harvested, either by plucking seed or cutting whole inflorescences,
it must be dried as soon as possible to prevent it from going moldy. The most suitable
way of drying it is to lay it out on a sheet of plastic in a well ventilated room. The seed
should be turned over several times a day for several days until it is dry. Then it can
be placed in suitable bags for storage until the beginning of the next growing
season. This storage time helps to break the dormancy that is experienced by seed
of some species of grass, and also allows for planting at the beginning of the next
growing season to give the new seedlings as much time as possible to grow before
the onset of winter. Planting can be done by hand, using established techniques
used by most farmers.
 The most critical stages in
the process are:
- Harvesting seed
at the correct
time,
- Ensuring that the
seed is dried
adequately,
- Maintaining
suitable storage
conditions,
namely cool and
dry,
- Planting at the
right time of the
season.

Germination and emergence is usually slow and erratic compared to agricultural

crops, but experience has shown that germination percentages are reasonable, and
that reasonable cover can be achieved, with reasonable levels of diversity.

This approach has not been evaluated in Lesotho, and would need to be tried
experimentally to evaluate its potential, develop local expertise and to adapt
approaches for local conditions.

A phased approach may be the best way of initiating the process. Phase one should
include working with a community on a site to go through the process outlined
above from identifying a suitable site, through exclusion of animals, identifying and
harvesting seed, drying and storing seed to planting and managing a test site.
 Acknowledgments

The contents of this booklet were provided by Professor Kevin Kirkman.

This booklet was produced to complement A Framework: To Guide an Ecosystem

Approach for Integrated Water Resources Management in Lesotho. The Framework
was developed as a component of the project titled ‘A Water Secure Future for
Southern Africa - Applying the Ecosystem Approach in the Orange-Senqu Basin’. The
Project was led by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and funded
by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and
implemented in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. The Lesotho pilot was
implemented by Serumula Development Association in collaboration with the
Institute of Natural Resources.

A Sesotho version of this booklet is also available – for a copy please contact:
Bonang Mosiuoa (Serumula Development Association)
[email protected] or (+266) 5886 4882.

This product is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the
responsibility of Serumula Development Association and the Institute of Natural Resources
NPC and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.