Sesame Crop Research Articles

Nutrient Uptake Patterns and Soil Fertility Assessment in Diverse Crop Rotations under Irrigated Dry Conditions in Telangana, India

An experiment was conducted during the 2023-24 kharif and rabi seasons at the College Farm, AICRP on the IFS unit, PJTSAU, Hyderabad. To develop efficient cropping systems for the Telangana region, it is essential to evaluate them based on productivity, nutrient uptake and economic viability. This study assessed various cropping sequences with regard to nutrient absorption and soil fertility status specific to Telangana and the findings were presented here. The rice-maize cropping system demonstrated higher nutrient uptake, resulting in a higher rice grain equivalent yield compared to Bt cotton under region-specific system. The Bt cotton + greengram (1:2) - sesame cropping system exhibited significantly higher nutrient uptake compared to the pigeonpea + foxtail millet (2:5) - sweet corn, making it more effective for sustaining long-term soil health. Among the crops cultivated for family nutritional security, the fingermillet – groundnut demonstrated significantly higher nutrient uptake compared to the pigeonpea + sorghum (2:3) - sesame. The nutrient uptake in the fodder bajra - lucerne system was higher than that in the fodder sorghum - fodder oats system when comparing the two fodder cropping systems. It has been observed that fodder systems required a greater amount of nutrients for their growth and development compared to other cropping systems.

Impacts of adaptation to climate change on farmers’ food security and level of sesame production in Western Ethiopia

The existence of multiple stresses and poor adaptive capacity make Africa most susceptible to climate change. In Ethiopia the potential adverse effects of climate change on the agricultural sector, the main stay of the country’s economy, are major concerns. To ensure food security, reducing the vulnerability of agricultural systems through different feasible adaptation strategies is one of the policy options in response to climate change impact This study is a first of its kind in examining the relative effectiveness of various adaptation strategies in ensuring farmers’ food security and enhancing level of sesame production in rural area of Western Ethiopia. In addition to data obtained from meteorological stations, cross-sectional data were collected interviewing 400 farm households. Descriptive statistics, two-stage least square (2SLS) and double-hurdle (D-H) models were used to analyze the data. The results of the study indicate that households are adapting using various strategies to the looming climate change in the area. The study also indicated that, though sesame production was negatively impacted by the climate hazards, smallholders have continued its production at minimum level due mainly to its high value crop character. 2SLS estimation results revealed that rainfall and temperature variability have negative impact on household’s food security. Moreover, the result indicates effectiveness of climate adaptation strategies namely agronomic practices, irrigation and soil and water conservation in reducing climatic risks and ensuring household food security. The result also implicitly indicated that farmers continued to adapt sesame production under risk climate and it is contributing to farmers’ food security. Further, the result revealed that climate change adaptation strategies have positively impacted the level of sesame production. Consequently, policy that augments households’ climate awareness and promotes adaptation decision and strategies could help reducing risks pertaining to climate and thereby improves farmers’ food security status and production of high value export potential crop—sesame.

Evaluation of rabi season sesame productivity from graded nutrient doses and tillage regimes in rice fallows of southern plateau and hills region of the Indian sub-continent.

Only scattered information is available on the tillage and nutrient management information for the sesame crop following rice in the literature. Sesame as an edible oil yielding crop with high levels of unsaturated fatty acids has high international demand due to superior health benefits. Being a small seeded crop, it requires standard tillage and nutrient management to obtain optimum productivity under rice fallow ecologies. As a sequential crop after rice harvest, the tillage and nutrient management practices followed for the preceding rice have astounding effects on the succeeding sesame crop. To better understand and manipulate the agro ecology in the rice fallow culture, it is necessary to study the behaviour of sesame cultivars, in relation to the tillage requirements and macro nutrient factors that have a bearing on the productivity. The aim of this work was to evaluate the productivity of rice fallow sesame in the southern plateau and hills regions of the Indian sub-continent (Tamil Nadu) with a hypothesis that tillage and nutrient management would immensely benefit the sesame crop. Field experiments were conducted at TNAU, Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduturai, Tamil Nadu during 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 with tillage practices (reduced tillage, conventional tillage and zero tillage) and fertilizer doses (zero percent RDF, 25% RDF, 50% RDF, 75% RDF and 100% RDF) in a split plot design replicated thrice. The results have clearly indicated that the performance of rice fallow sesame was poor under zero till conditions as the sesame crop is poorly adapted leading to a yield penalty up to 68%. A total of 75% RDF has yielded statistically similar yield to that of 100% RDF to the rice fallow sesame. Further, neither the oil content nor the fatty acid composition was modified by tillage and nutrient management regimes.

Interaction Effect of Irrigation Frequency and Weed Control Methods on Growth and Yield of Sesame Crop

Interaction Effect of Irrigation Frequency and Weed Control Methods on Growth and Yield of Sesame Crop

Weed detection and classification in sesame crops using region-based convolution neural networks

Weed detection and classification in sesame crops using region-based convolution neural networks

Assessment of cluster front line demonstration on yield and economics of summer sesame

Sesame is one of the most important oilseed crops which play a major role in increasing the income of small and marginal farmers of the Kutch region of Gujarat. To promote the improved cultivation technology of sesame with high yielding variety ‘GT4’ and ‘GJT5’, 123 cluster front line demonstrations (CFLDs) were conducted in 63.2 ha area during summer, at ICAR-CAZRI, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kukma, Bhuj, Kachchh, Gujarat during summer 2017 to 2020. The four years data revealed that the average yield increased to 16.34% over the existing practice due to adoption of improved practice. The average technology gap, extension gap and technology index were 270.5 kg/ha, 121 kg/ha and 24.95%, respectively. Furthermore, the economics of the demonstrations and farmers practice showed an increased net return of ₹39,319/ha with benefit: cost ratio (BCR) of 2.47 in demonstrated plots over conventional plots where it was ₹30,700/ha and 2.19, respectively. By conducting front line demonstration of the proven technologies, yield potential of sesame crop could be enhanced to a greater extent with increase in the income level of the farming community.

The Effect of Planting Dates on some Growth Traits at the Flowering Stage for Four Varieties of Sesame Crop

The Effect of Planting Dates on some Growth Traits at the Flowering Stage for Four Varieties of Sesame Crop

Influence of Salicylic Acid under Different Levels of Drought Stress on Growth, Yield, and Chemical Content in Sesame Crop.

Influence of Salicylic Acid under Different Levels of Drought Stress on Growth, Yield, and Chemical Content in Sesame Crop.

Water requirement and single and dual crop coefficients of sesame cultivated in the coastal tablelands of Brazil

AbstractSesame irrigation is essential in drought‐prone regions. However, information about the water needs of sesame is scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and the sesame crop coefficient (Kc) during the rainy (S1) and dry (S2) seasons in the coastal tablelands of Alagoas, Brazil. The BRS Seda cultivar was grown in Rio Largo, Alagoas, Brazil, between 2021 and 2022. A system with 25 drainage lysimeters was installed to estimate the daily and cumulative ETc and the Kc for the entire crop cycle. The ETc was partitioned into transpiration (T) and evaporation (E), and the basal crop coefficients (Kcb) and soil evaporation coefficients (Ke) were subsequently estimated. The daily and cumulative ETc were 3.04 mm day−1 and 450.4 mm cycle−1, respectively, in S1 and 3.52 mm day−1 and 440.1 mm cycle−1, respectively, in S2. Regardless of the season, T was the main water flux (74%–80% of the ETc). The mean values of Kc were similar for S1 (0.79) and S2 (0.75), and Kcb and Ke followed the same trend as T and E, respectively. The accumulated ETc and Kc of sesame cultivated in the coastal tablelands of Alagoas, Northeast Brazil, are similar for the rainy and dry seasons.

EVALUATION OF INSECTICIDE APPLICATION FREQUENCY TO CONTROL SESAME LEAF WEBBER ANTIGASTRA CATALAUNALIS (DUPONCHEL) AND MIRID BUG CREONTIADUS DILUTES

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), a member of the Pedaliaceae family, is referred to as the queen of oilseeds. There are numerous barriers to its production and productivity, including a lack of economically feasible and technically adequate manufacturing technology, but insect pests particularly, sesame leaf webber (Antigastra catalaunalis) and Mirid Bug (Creontiadus dilutes) play a prime role in declining its potential yield. In this study, five treatments, viz. T1:2-WAE (weeks after emergence), T2:2,4-WAE, T3: 2,4,6 WAE, T4: 2,4,6,8 WEA, T5: weekly spray after emergence (positive control) and T6: control (zero application of spray) spray were applied, while T5=weekly spray started one week after emergence, prior to the onset of A. catalaunalis infestation on the sesame crop and was continuously applied until the maturity of the crop. A Hand knap sack sprayer was used for the Polytrin C 440EC (Profenophos 400 G/L + Cypermethrin G/L) @500ml/acre application. The results revealed that the incidence of A. catalaunalis and C. dilutes throughout the season during both years (2022-23) was significantly different (p < 0.001) among all treatments. High insecticide application frequency lowers the leaf, flower and capsule damage, which ultimately decreases seed loss and enhances the end product, so it was observed that T5: weekly spray after emergence (positive control) gave maximum control, followed by four-time spray application (T4: 2, 4, 6, 8WEA) while maximum infestation was observed in T6: control (zero application of spray), followed by T1:2-WAE. Positive control gave the best results. It is suggested that three-time spray application was found to be most suitable for the management of both devastating insects. Based on evaluation, it appears that adjusting the frequency of insecticide application can effectively control sesame leaf Webber and mirid bug populations. However, it’s important to balancer pest control with environmental concerns and resistance development.

Induced mutation in the SiALS gene offers new weed management opportunities for sesame crop

Weeds are the primary biotic constraint affecting sesame growth and production. Here, we applied EMS mutagenesis to an elite sesame cultivar and discovered a novel point mutation in the sesame SiALS gene conferring resistance to imidazolinone, a group of acetolactate-synthase (ALS)-inhibitors. The mutant line exhibited high resistance to imazamox, an ALS-inhibitor, with hybrid plants displaying an intermediate response. Field-based validation confirmed the mutant line’s substantial resistance, leading to a significantly higher yield under imazamox treatment. Under pre-emergence application of imazapic, the mutant plants sustained growth, whereas wild-type and weed were effectively controlled. Field trials using s-metolachlor and imazapic combined resulted in weed-free plots compared to untreated controls. Consequently, this treatment showed a significantly greater yield (2280 vs. 880 Kg ha−1) than the commercial practice (s-metolachlor). Overall, our study unveils the potential of utilizing this point mutation in sesame breeding programs, offering new opportunities for integrated weed management strategies for sesame cultivation. Developing herbicide-resistant crop plants holds promise for supporting sustainable production and addressing the challenges of weed infestations in sesame farming.

Effect of Companion Cropping of Sesame on Development of Pigeonpea

The field study was laid out during two consecutive rainy seasons of 2016-17 and 2017-18 at Soil Conservation and Water Management Farm, C.S. Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur. The main objective was to find out the yield of main crop of pigeonpea and sesame and their economic I term of net profit. The fertility status of experimental plot was medium. The three treatments i.e., pigeonpea sole, sesame sole and pigeonpea + sesame (1+1) additive series were tested. The total productivity of pigeonpea + sesame was highest (20.30 q/ha) in comparison to pigeonpea sole (17.34 q/ha) and sesame alone (6.32 q/ha). The pooled data display that maximum cost of cultivation Rs. 56191/ha observed under pigeonpea + sesame cropping system. The highest gross return Rs. 116053/ha, net return Rs. 54862/ha and BCR 1:2.07 were also recorded with pigeonpea + sesame (1+1) additive series.

First Report of Charcoal Rot on Tobacco Caused by Macrophomina phaseolina in Hunan Province, China.

Flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a significant cash crop globally. In August 2022, necrotic lesions on stem associated with root rot and wilting were observed on flue-cured tobacco (Cv. Yunyan 87) in fields located in Banxin village (27.95N,109.60E) of Fenghuang county in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province, China. The affected and damaged area of tobacco is approximately 10 hectares, with adisease incidence of 60%. Lots of small black speckling within the lower stem of the affected plant, vascular tissue changed to black, dry rot, and looked like charcoal breezes. Small pieces were cut from healthy and diseased tissues, surface sterilized with 5% NaClO for 3 min and 75% ethanol for 1 min, rinsed with sterile distilled water and air-drying, incubated on oat medium incubated at 28℃ for five days. These isolates grew fast and produced typical black microsclerotia. The morphological were septate hyphae and microsclerotia. The microsclerotia were black and regularly round, with a 42.5 - 92.9 μm diameter. These morphological features were consistent with Macrophomina phaseolina (Smith and Wyllie 1999). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) genes of three representative isolates were amplified and sequenced using the primers ITS1/ITS4 and EF1-728F/EF2R (Machado et al. 2019). Our resulting sequences (GenBank accessions OR435093, OR435101, OR435102 for ITS; OR891780, OR891781 and OR891782 for EF1-α) showed 99-100% similarity with M. phaseolina by NCBI blast. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using MEGA-X software with the NJ method. The combined sequences grouped with isolates to M. phaseolina with 100% bootstrap support. The strain XF22 has been sent to the China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center (CGMCC3.25349). Pathogenicity tests were conducted by inoculating potted plants (six plants per isolate, three times) from 45 day-old tobacco seedlings cv. Yunyan 87. Stems were randomly gently scratched with sterile needles, and a 5 mm agar disc with mycelium of the pathogen was attached to the surface of each wound, with a sterilized agar disc as control. Inoculated seedlings were incubated in growth chambers at 26℃ and 60% RH with a 12 h photoperiod/day. After ten days, symptoms that brown or black lesions on the inoculated lesions were dotted with numerous black, hard microsclerotia similar to those naturally occurring on the diseased plants, but not on the control plants. The same pathogen was re-isolated consistently, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Based on morphological, molecular, and pathogenicity test results, these isolates were identified as M. phaseolina. Charcoal rot of tobacco, caused by M. phaseolina was previously found in Guangxi in 1989 (Zhu et al. 2002), while this is the first report of M. phaseolina causing charcoal rot on flue-cured tobacco in Hunan, China. We speculate that the planting area is influenced by the preceding crop sesame. The soil carries M. phaseolina, which can cause stem rot of sesame, leading to the occurrence of tobacco charcoal rot. Our results indicated that charcoal rot caused by M. phaseolina is a new threat to flue-cured tobacco production and lue-cured tobacco might be acting as a reservoir and spreading this pathogen to other economically crops in China.

SCALING UP OF SESAME PRODUCTION UNDER CLUSTER FRONTLINE DEMONSTRATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAMME IN PUNJAB, INDIA

The present investigations were undertaken to assess the effectiveness of demonstrated technology of sesame cultivation at farmers’ fields for their awareness with the objective of narrowing yield gaps in sesame crop in the rain fed areas of Punjab, India. A total of seventy-five Cluster Frontline Demonstrations (CFLDs) were conducted on improved farm technology of sesame, in which the full package of agronomic practices for its cultivation were used with special focus on improved cultivars and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which are major constraints in sesame production. The performance of the technology demonstrated under the CFLDs was compared with that of the traditional farmers’ practice. The yield enhancement, technological gap and extension yield gaps along with the economic analysis were studied for the three years during Kharif 2017-18 to Kharif 2019-2020. The average technology gap, extension yield gap and technology index of 1.43 quintal per hectare (q/ha), 1.54 q/ha and 20.4%, respectively, were recorded. The improved farm technology package demonstrated showed significant enhancement in the profitability of oilseeds in terms of gross returns and net returns besides additional returns (Rs. 9098–15215/- per ha) and incremental benefit-cost ratio (3.54–4.40). The demonstrated farm technology was found to have huge potential to enhance sesame productivity and profitability, thereby enabling farmers to earn better livelihood under normal and collateral farming situations. Keywords: Frontline demonstrations, Economics, Sesame, Extension gap, Productivity, Technology index

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) growth properties and yield attributes are associated with potassium level in response to drought stress

Little attention is paid to the mitigating effect of different potassium (K) levels on sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) growth performance in response to drought stress (DS). A pot experiment was performed under DS conditions along with four K levels (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha−1, denoted as DK0, DK1, DK2 and DK3 respectively), and 120 kg ha−1 of K2O application under normal watering was set as control (CK). Results showed that the plant height, specific leaf weight, leaf water content, chlorophyll content, crop growth rate and biomass were significantly decreased by 6.9%, 15.3%, 7.3%, 17.9%, 55.6% and 34.1%, respectively, as compared to CK whereas K could alleviate the adverse effects of drought on the aforementioned parameters, and the mitigation was more prominent as K rates increased. The decrease in capsule number per plant (1.72 g) primarily accounted for yield loss (1.95 g) induced by DS. Expectedly, K supply compensated for the yield reduction to an extent and the maximum compensation was recorded under DK3, which increased by 50.0% as compared to DK0. Additionally, enhanced yield and yield components were positively correlated with K accumulation as it was further evidenced by significantly increased K uptake in plant tissues. For every extra 1 g of K absorbed by the plant, the yield per plant would increase by 16 g However, the K utilization efficiency showed a downward trend along with increased exogenous K supply under DS. In conclusion, K application at the rate of 120 kg ha−1 is an economical and effective approach for alleviating drought susceptibility in sesame crops.

Influence of Weather Factors on the Incidence of Major Insect Pests of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Population dynamics of major pests viz., web worm, Antigastra catalaunalis (Duponchel), leaf hoppers Orosius albicinctus (Distant) and gallfly Asphondilia sesami (Felt) infesting sesame was studied in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India during Rabi and Kharif seasons of the year 2020. Correlation between the pest population, percent damage and weather parameters was analyzed and regression equations were developed. The incidence of leaf hoppers, web worm and gallfly on sesame crop during Rabi season started on 4th, 3rd and 7th Standard meteorological week (SMW) respectively. The peak attained on 8th,11th, and 11th SMW with population of leafhoppers and damage by web worm and gallfly (2.01/plant,60.04 percent and 49.68 percent) respectively during Rabi season. In case of leafhopper and web worm, minimum temperature (r=0.031r=0.373) had non-significant positive correlation whereas mean relative humidity (r=-0.02) registered non-significant negative correlation with leaf hopper and web worm significant negative correlation Gall fly incidence showed significant positive correlation with maximum and minimum temperature. Whereas in Kharif season, incidence of leafhoppers, web worm and gallfly on sesame crop started on 33rd, 32nd and 37th SMW respectively. The peak activity and incidence was noticed during 37th, 39th and 40th SMW for leafhoppers, web worm and gallfly respectively. The correlation between weather parameters and incidence of major pests followed a similar pattern to kharif season. Regression analysis data revealed that the multiple non-linear regression equations are sufficient to predict the pest population with prevailing weather parameters.

Deep learning-based weed detection in sesame crops using modified YOLOv5 model

Deep learning-based weed detection in sesame crops using modified YOLOv5 model

An efficient method for extracting pure DNA from the oil seed crop Sesamum indicum L.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a vital oil seed crop highly rich in sesamin, sesamolin, and tocopherols, which are some of its nutrient and antioxidant components. Sesame is rich in genetic resources with vast germplasm, tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses, and quality-related traits. Therefore, a comprehensive study on searching important genes/quantitative trait loci (QTLs) is needed to get better oil from the plant. Pure DNA is the prerequisite to perform various molecular-level functions, including gene amplification, genomewide association studies, and other molecular breeding applications used in crop improvement. However, it also has high polysaccharides and secondary metabolites that interfere with DNA extraction, and precise quantification of DNA is essential for DNA-related biological functions. Several DNA extraction methods, such as cetyl-tetra methyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), and commercially available kits, are present and used in molecular biology applications. Due to the complexity and interference of polysaccharides and polyphenols, the available methods required numerous modifications in the protocol to get pure and intact DNA. This study illustrates several modifications to get the pure DNA using the CTAB-based method with the additional step of adding a high salt concentration, which results in a better quantity and quality of DNA extracted from sesame leaves and root tissue. The lysis buffer and cold storage to efficiently eliminate the polysaccharide components were found to be limiting factors affecting DNA yield; therefore, buffer composition, along with storage duration, was modified in the present study. This method worked well to get good quality and quantity of DNA and will help researchers conduct next-generation sequencing and other genetic investigations directly associated with high-quality DNA in the oilseed crop.

Estimation of the Supply Response Function for Sesame Crop in Qena Governorate

Estimation of the Supply Response Function for Sesame Crop in Qena Governorate

An Economic Study of Different Irrigation Methods for Sesame Crops in Fayoum Governorate

An Economic Study of Different Irrigation Methods for Sesame Crops in Fayoum Governorate