Summer Sesamum

Sesamum (Sesamum indicum L.), also known as sesame, til and gingelly, is an important and ancient oil yielding crop and belongs to order Tubiflorae and family Pedaliaceae. It's grains may be eaten as fried, mixed with sugar or in the form of sweetmeals. Sesame oil is used as a cooking-oil in southern India. Sesamum-cake is a rich source of protein, carbohydrates and mineral nutrients, such as calcium and phosphorus. Sesame is usually rich in oil (46 - 52%) and protein (18-20%). The treatments comprising of ten combinations of five irrigation levels and two mulching (M0-no mulch, M¬P-paddy straw mulch) were tried in FRBD with four replications. The results indicated that growth and yield attributes viz., plant height, dry matter accumulation, number of primary branches, DAS to 50 per cent flowering, length of capsule, number of seeds per capsule and stover yield increased significantly with irrigation treatments. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of irrigation levels and mulching on yield and quality of summer sesamum on clayey soils.