Harvesting native lilies – Introduction
John Delpratt was interested in finding the best way to harvest seed from Bulbine bulbosa – a perennial lily native to grassland in southern and eastern Australia. Hand harvesting the seed is difficult and time-consuming, and seeds are easily lost.
John compared the traditional method of hand–collecting seeds from open fruit with three different methods of harvesting and ripening fruit in an artificial environment.
The key issues John wanted to address were:
Did the harvesting method influence seed yield and seed size?
Timeline
| Spring, 1996 | Study design |
|---|---|
| December, 1996 | Data collection starts |
| February, 1997 | Data collection finishes |
| Summer, 1997 | Data analysis starts |
| July, 1999 | Final report |
John Delpratt talks about the study
Click the play button to hear from John Delpratt |