This is impossible because the opening of the green sesame capsules is associated with stroke and rubbing. This damages sesame seeds and deteriorates their commercial qualities. In Bulgaria, we are trying to develop a prototype to collect green capsules.

I think it is good to harvest sesame when 80% of the capsules show yellowing and leaves are dropping off. Harvesting when the capsules open is an indicator of late harvesting when already some seeds have been lost due to shattering. I usually harvest green sesame after physiological maturity (at drying stage) and then continue drying in a greenhouse or on an outside platform under the sun.

In addition to above that has been said by " Stanislav Stamatov " & " Cosmas Wacal ". I just want to add that, the color, shape, size and moisture contents of the seeds are important in marketing and storage. This may probably the reason.

(@stanislav satamatov)

Thanks for answring

In Iran, because of the lack of a specific head of sesame seeds, we use a gas called Regelone to reduce its loss. And, with a visit from the Sesame that 2 week before harvest, we observed that the capsules are very tight and if we can harvest the green sesames, it has Minimum amount of head loss, but sesame can not be reached in this case.

(@cosmas wacal)

Thanks for answring.in our country farmers are harvesting sesame like you.but my main question is this if we harvest the sesame when they are green it can be reach after some days or no?

i understand this from you're answer that you are harvesting sesame without machines and then you dry them like irainian farmers.

(@M.C. sidhu)

Thanks. Yes as you know these features are important in our harvest and post harvest. But some fruits are reach after harvesting green one and some of them cannot reach any time if you harvest green one of them.

In most varieties of sesame the sign of ripening is commonly known when the pods color turns from green to yellow. The time that it starts to change to yellowish green indicates that the crop is at its phisyiological maturity. Secondly, the seed must complete its full maturity intact while the plant standing. Therefore, if we harvest plants or pods when it is at green state as means of preventing shatering, we are likely to have premature seeds and this will have adverse effect on the quality, viability, storage and even in oil content of the seed. Of course, shattering and indeterminate growth are the greater challenges in sesame production worldwide. Thus, one of the breeding effort in sesame is to overcome these problems.

Mohammed Abate

thanks for answering my question. yes it's true. sesame's down capsules color should become black to start harvesting .

I am sorry that I did not see this question earlier. I assume that you are talking about harvesting sesame with a machine.

Back in the 1980s we tried to machine harvest indehiscent capsules when the plants were dry in hopes that we could move the capsules to a machine that would be more gentle on the seed to avoid free fatty acid release. We were semi-successful in that many of the capsules came out of the back of the combine. We abandoned the project because the logistics of hauling and storing capsules for processing were too expensive.

As for harvesting the capsules while they are green, I think that you may have serious moisture problems. The seed in the green capsules had about 60% moisture. In Venezuela in the 1970s they tried harvesting seed when it was 12-18% moisture and putting it through driers. They found that if they lowered the moisture more than 1% in a pass through their driers, the heat had to be so high that the seed was damaged. They also found that the expense of the gas in the driers exceeded the amount of loss in yield from harvesting at a lower moisture. I think that you would have a similar problem with drying the capsules because I do not think you could leave them to dry alone. Remember that with 50% oil, sesame can catch on fire through self-heating in a storage silo. Perhaps, if you do not have the danger of rain, you could spread the capsules on tarps or on concrete to dry in the sun. But in a 100 hectare field of sesame you would need a lot of tarps or concrete area. The labor for spreading, turning, and collecting the capsules during the drying process may be more expensive than the traditional way of harvest.

In trying to harvest green capsules, I also assume that you will be dealing with green leaves. This would add another dimension of problems.

I know that you use Reglone. I have used it, and there is a stage in between being green when it is sprayed and being dry and the capsules opening. If I were to try this, I would think you would allow a few dry open capsules while most have not opened. That would simplify the problem. However, remember that in using Reglone the part that dries down the slowest is the stem. In passing the stems through the combine, you will release moisture that will be absorbed by the hydroscopic capsules even if they are in contact for only seconds.

My guess is that you will have problems with the air settings. The air needs to be high enough to get rid on non-capsule materials, but if it is too high, you will blow capsules out the back.

If the capsules are still attached to parts of the stem or the whole stem, the capsules will not go through the sieves and you will lose capsules that way. There is germplasm where the strength of the peduncle is such that the capsules break off easily. On the other hand, with these types, especially with triple capsule lines, the capsules may rub off as you are pulling the sesame into the combine, and they will fall below the header.

I would think that depending on the cylinder speed and concave settings, that some of the capsules will open and release some seed, However, that should not be an issue since the seed should fall through the sieves and be collected. However, in moving that wet seed through the augers to pass the harvest to trucks, there may be some damage to that seed. You may find that you want to pass that seed out the back of the combine.

I think this is an excellent question. There is no doubt that the higher the moisture in sesame, the higher the yield (even when adjusted by weight to 6% moisture). We have had plenty of farmers do so, but handling wet sesame is a nightmare. By now I would think that you have tried harvesting the green capsules with a combine, and I would like to hear your experiences. The only way to really know the answers is to try. You may find solutions.

Good morning, In https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330937574 on page 60, you will find a reference to a YouTube where in China they harvested the capsules of the plants.

(@langham)

Thanks.