Effect of sowing date and plant density on the performance of two sesame (Sesamum indicum) cultivars under irrigation

Two separate field experiment were conducted for two consecutive seasons during 2000/2001 and 2001/2001 at Kenana Sugar Cane Research Department (K.S.R.D) to investigate the effects of sowing date and planting density on the performance of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars. Two sesame cultivars were used in this study namely: Khidir and Promo. In the first experiment plants were sown at five different sowing dates viz; mid June, July 1, mid July, August 1 and mid August. In the second experiment plants were sown at four densities viz; 0.5x10**5, 1.0x10**5, 1.5x10**5 and 2.0x10**5 plant haE-1. Both experiments were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Characters studied included: growth attributes (plant height, number of branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, leaf area index and dry matter production), phenological attributes (number of days to 50 flowering and number of days to physiological maturity) and yield parameters (number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, 1000-seed weight, seed yield and seed protein and oil content). The results showed that sowing date had significant effect on all parameters studied. In this regard, the early sown plants (mid June- mid July) had greater seed yield than the late sown palnts (August sowing) but took longer period to mature. On the other hand, planting density had significant effect on most of the parameters measured in this study. In this respect, increasing plant density significantly decreased the number of branches, number of leaves and seed yield per plant. In contrast, dry matter producton and seed yield per unit area increased With increasing plant density. The differences between the two cultivars were significant and in all treatments, Promo cultivar was taller, matured earlier and had higher yield compared to Khidir cultivar. No significant difference in oil content due to treatments tested in this study was observed. In conclusion irrigated sesame should be sown between mid June to mid July and at stand density of approximately 1.5x10**5 - 2.0x10**5 plants haE-1. Promo cultivar outyielded Khidir under all treatments, and therefore it may be a promising cultivar for commercial production of sesame under irrigation