Abstract
Sesame cultivars perform differently in various environments comprising specific locations and years. Micronutrient fertilizers increase crop yields and can enhance resistance to environmental hazards and contribute to potential yield. For assessing the effect of environment and micronutrients, field experiments were carried out at three different locations (BARI, URF and NARC) of Pothwar region, Pakistan, in two succeeding years (2014, 2015). Four sesame cultivars and three micronutrients (Zn, B and Mn) with a control treatment were used in RCB design with a split-plot procedure and four replications. The results showed significant differences in the main effects of all tested factors (cultivars, micronutrients, locations and years). Maximum mean values of plant height, capsules plant−1, biomass yield and seed yield were recorded for SG-30, while TH-6 was the lowest for these parameters. Maximum mean values of capsule length, capsule weight, seeds capsules−1 and the weight of 1000 seeds were recorded for TH-6 but vice versa for SG-30. Maximum capsule length and seeds capsule−1 were observed at NARC, while other growth and yield attributes were maximum at BARI and URF, including biomass yield and seed yield. The interactive effect of cultivar × location × year was highly significant for all growth and yield traits except capsule length. Sesame cultivars revealed a differential response for all traits at three locations during both years. Application of micronutrients significantly augmented all growth and yield features of sesame. Micronutrient fertilizers (i.e., ZnSO4 at 10 kg ha−1, borax at 10 kg ha−1 and MnSO4 at 5 kg ha−1) would increase yield and yield-attributing traits in low- or medium-precipitation areas where suitable cultivars have been designated.
Highlights
Maximum values of plant height (PH), number of capsules (NC), biomass yield and seed yield (725.0 kg ha−1 ) were observed for the cultivar SG-30, but this was lowest for capsule length (CL), capsule weight (CW), seeds per capsule (SPC) and 1000 SW
TH-6 had the highest values for CL, CW, SPC and 1000 SW
It was lowest for the remaining attributes including seed yield (363.4 kg ha−1 )
Summary
Pakistan is greatly deficient in edible oil production. During 2020–2021 (July–March), the country’s demand for edible oil was 3.291 million tons, whereas 0.374 million tons (11.4%) were locally produced, while the remaining 2.917 million tons (88.6%) of edible oil was covered by imports [1]. An increase in the local production of oilseeds is needed. The Pothwar plateau is a key part of the subtropical dry land zone, which extends across latitude 32◦ 10 to 34◦ 9 N and longitude 71◦ 10 to 73◦ 55 E, with 1.82 million hectares in Pakistan. The parent material of Pothwar plateau soils is varied in nature, and the parent material is loess, alluvium, colluviums and mixed by nature. The soils have variable parent material and chemical composition, and are prone to erosion due to undulated landforms
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