Guizotia abyssinica, commonly known as niger seed, nyger, or ramtil, is an erect, stout, branched annual herb, grown for its edible oil and seed. It is an annual herb, meaning it lives for only one growing season.
Other names for niger seed include:
- noog/nug (Ethio-Semitic and Eritrean ኑግ nūg or ኒህዩግ nihyug)
- ramtil or ramtilla
- niger or nyger seed
- inga seed
- blackseed
Its cultivation originated in the Eritrean and Ethiopian highlands and has spread to other parts of Ethiopia. Niger seeds are native to Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Malawi. They are also grown in India.
Niger Seed Plant
Plant Description and Habitat
Guizotia abyssinica is a stout, erect annual herb growing up to 2 metres tall. Niger seed is often harvested as a source of a good quality oil; it also provides an edible seed, and has local medicinal uses. The plant is adapted to a wide range of soils, from sandy to heavy, growth being poor on light sandy or gravelly soils. Niger is often cultivated on very poor acid soils, on hilly slopes, where fertility is low due to leaching and washing away of the plant nutrients by erosion.
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Niger seed is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation of 660 - 1790mm, and an annual temperature range of 13.6 - 27.5°c.
It has a history of cultivation dating back to around 3,000 BC and is still often grown, especially in Africa and India, as an oil seed crop, it has also been cultivated in Germany. Niger is indigenous to Ethiopia where it is grown in rotation to cereals and pulses. In Ethiopia, it is cultivated on water-logged soils where most crops and all other oil-seeds fail to grow.
Ideal Growing Conditions
Requiring moderate rainfall between 1,000 to 1,250 millimetres (39 to 49 in) annually, niger seed needs moist soil to grow properly. Niger should be grown in light black soils or brownish loam with sufficient depth but it also can be grown on well drained heavy soils or rocky laterite soils. It can grow in semi-shade or full sun.
Average seed yields in India range from 100 - 200 kg/ha when grown with ragi, and 300 - 400 kg/ha when grown in pure stands. In Kenya, monocultural yields average 600 kg/ha.
Several factors lend credence to fears that niger seed might become a pest if introduced into warm temperate areas:- grazing animals do not relish it; the plant tolerates poor soil and drought; it has few serious pests or diseases especially outside its native range; the seeds store for a year or more without deterioration; and the seeds mature 3 - 4.5 months after planting.
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Seed Characteristics
These seeds look a bit like tiny sunflower seeds, but they are smaller and black. Each seed has a thick outer layer that sticks to it. Niger seeds are packed with good stuff! They contain proteins, oil, and natural sugars.
Niger seeds resemble sunflower seeds in shape, but are smaller in size and black. It bears a fairly thick, adherent seed coat and can be stored for up to a year without deterioration. Niger seed contains proteins, oil and soluble sugars.
Uses of Niger Seed
Niger seeds are small yet mighty, offering a blend of culinary versatility, environmental benefits, and the joy of bird watching.
Culinary Uses
The seed is eaten fried, used as a condiment or dried then ground into a powder and mixed with flour etc to make sweet cakes. In southern parts of India, people eat niger seeds. In states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra, the seeds are roasted and ground to make a dry chutney. This chutney is eaten with breads like chapati.
Niger Seed Oil
Niger seed yields about 30-35% of its weight in oil which is clear, slow-drying, and edible. The seeds contains around 45% of a clear, excellent, slow-drying edible oil, with some selected cultivars containing up to 60%. It is used as a substitute for olive oil, can be mixed with linseed oil, and is used as an adulterant for rape oil, sesame oil etc. The oil is used in cooking as a ghee substitute and can be used in salad dressings etc. The raw oil has a low acidity and can be used directly for cooking.
Niger(Uchi Yellu) Seeds Oil Extraction - Cold Pressed Oil method
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The major fatty acids in the oil are palmitic acid 7.6 - 8.7%; stearic acid 5.6 - 7.5%; oleic acid 4.8 - 8.3% ;and linoleic acid 74.8 - 79.1%.
Medicinal Uses
The oil from the seeds is used in the treatment of rheumatism. A medical test for the identification of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, which causes a serious brain disease, is carried out on a niger seed-based agar medium.
Other Uses
A drying oil is obtained from the seed. It is used medicinally, for burning, in making soap, paints etc. The plant can be used as a green manure. In Ethiopia the straw is used as fuel for cooking.
Bird Feed
Niger seeds are used as bird feed worldwide. The seed is used as bird food. As the seeds are so small, specialized bird feeders are manufactured for niger seed. It is a favourite among goldfinches 12 months of the year.
In the birdseed market, niger is often sold or referred to as thistle seed.
Table: Nutritional Information of Niger Seed
| Nutrient | Approximate Percentage |
|---|---|
| Oil | 30-50% |
| Protein | ~20% |
Cultivation
Niger seed is a short-day plant adapted to the cool tropical environment of the middle elevations as well as the highland regions of eastern Africa, but it has also adapted to the tropical and subtropical lowlands in India and to temperate conditions in Europe. An easily grown plant, it succeeds in any rich soil. The plant is adapted to a wide range of soils, from sandy to heavy, growth being poor on light sandy or gravelly soils.
Most types of niger seed are short-day plants with only few day-length-insensitive individual plants. Under short days, flowering starts about 60 days after germination. Because the heads of niger seed mature over a period of time and shattering can reduce the yield by as much as 25%, the time of harvesting has to be established carefully.
Pests and Diseases
Getinet and Sharma (1996) report that a total of 24 insects have been recorded on niger in both Ethiopia and India. The parasitic weed species, known as Dodder (Cuscuta campestris) and (Cuscuta chinensis) are a threat to Niger production throughout Ethiopia and India.
In 1982, the USDA ordered that imported niger seed must be heat sterilized to kill the contaminant dodder seed.
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