The stigma has two curled branches
about 2 mm long. The hermaphrodite disk florets, usually 40-60 per capitulum, are
arranged in three whorls (Figs. 1.1 and 1.2). The disk florets are yellow to orange
with yellow anthers, and a densely hairy stigma.
The achene is club-shaped, obovoid and narrowly long (Seegeler 1983). The
head produces about 40 fruits. The achenes are black with white to yellow scars on
the top and base and have a hard testa. The embryo is white.
Niger is usually grown on light poor soils with coarse texture (Chavan 1961). It
is either grown as a sole crop or intercropped with other crops. When intercropped
it receives the land preparation and cultivation of the main crop. In Ethiopia it is
mainly cultivated as a sole crop on clay soils and survives on stored moisture. A
more detailed description on the agronomy of niger is presented under Agronomy