Breeding for the improvement of the ideal plant type of sesame

Abstract

AbstractThe objective of this study was to improve the ideal type of sesame, by performing pedigree selection applied to segregating generations of crosses of genotypes with contrasting characters. In the segregating F2 population, the progeny were classified into eight types according to the combinations of carpel number per capsule, capsule number per axil and branching habit. Progeny of individual F2 plants including a particular type were advanced to the F6 generation. It was possible to improve the lines with eight types at the end of the selection process. Some types, especially bicarpels, monocapsule, branch (BMB) and bicarpels, tricapsules, branch (BTB), were considered as ideal plant types in breeding for high‐yielding varieties. While the low‐yielding type quadricarpels, tricapsules, non‐branch (QTN) was the highest in oil content (49.3%), the high‐yielding type BMB was the lowest (43.2%), Although the QTN‐type had the lowest content of oleic acid (41.3%) and the highest content of linoleic acid (43.1 %), the bicarpels, monocapsule, non‐branch (BMN) type had the highest content of oleic acid (48.4%) and the lowest content of linoleic acid (36.6%), Total tocopherol varied between 175.6 and 368.9 mg/kg in the seed oil of the sesame types. The best high‐yielding type BMB was one of the types containing less tocopherol.