Effect of time of harvest, stage of fruit ripening, and post-harvest ripening on seed yield and germinability of local garden egg (Solanum gilo Radii)

Two cultivars of garden egg (Solanum gilo), Legon 1 and Nyaduahene, were used in the study. The first harvest was done 4 weeks after 50 per cent fruit set, followed by a second harvest, 4 weeks later. Seeds from three fruit maturity stages, mature white, yellow ripe and red ripe, were investigated. Seeds were extracted from half of the fruits harvested from each stage immediately after harvest while the other halves were stored at room temperature to ripen to the soft-red stage before seed extraction. Fruit weight in both cultivars decreased with plant age. Fruits harvested at the yellow-ripe stage produced the highest number of seeds per fruit. Fruits harvested at the mature white stage had the lowest seed yield. Seed yield was higher in the second harvest than in the first. Cultivar differences were observed in 1000-seed weight, but seed weight in both cultivars increased with fruit maturity. Post-harvest ripening to the soft-red stage increased the number of seeds extracted in fruits harvested at the mature-white stage as well as the 1000-seed weight in fruits harvested at the mature-white or yellow stages. Post-harvest ripening also improved the total percentage germination of seeds extracted from fruits harvested at the white or yellow stages, but decreased the percentage germination in seeds from fruits harvested at the red-ripe stage. Ghana Jnl agric Sci. Vol.32(2) 1999: 159-167