India is the largest producer of sesame in the world. Sesame is known as Till in Hindi. It is a short duration crop can be grown throughout the year. Its seeds are used to extract edible oil. Seeds are available in two colors, black and white.

The ideal soil for sesame cultivation is well drained light to medium texture soil with good water holding capacity. PH of soil should be 5 to 8. Do not cultivate crop in alkaline and acidic soils.

T 4: It gives an average yield of 2-2.5qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 84-100 days. The plant attains the height of 150cm, seeds are medium in size (2.76gm per 1000 seeds) and the seeds contain 50% oil content. It is suitable for sowing in alluvial soil.

T 12: It gives an average yield of 2qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 85-90 days. The plant attains the height of 140cm, white color seeds which contains 53% oil content and is suitable for sowing in mid and west areas.

Ekanki white: It gives an average yield of 2qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 85-90 days. The seeds contain 50% oil content.

Krishna: It gives an average yield of 3qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 85-100 days. Black seeds which contain 47% oil content.

N 32: It gives an average yield of 3qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 95-100 days. It has shining white seeds which contain 50% oil content. It is suitable for sowing both in kharif and rabi season.

JT 7: It gives an average yield of 1.3qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 85 days. It has shining white seeds which contain 54% oil content.

Tapi: It gives an average yield of 3qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 78-82 days. It has white color seeds and the variety is tolerant to alternaria and powdery mildew.

Gujarat sesame 1: It gives an average yield of 2.2qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 85-90 days. It has light brown color seeds which contain 51% oil content.

Gujarat sesame 2: It gives an average yield of 2.9-3.3qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 85-90 days. It has white seeds which contain 50% oil content. It bears pink color flowers.

Punjab Sesame 1: It gives an average yield of 2qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 82-85 days. It has white color seeds.

TC 289: It gives an average yield of 2.9qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 98 days. It has big sized grains which contains 51.6% oil content.

Haryana Sesame 1: It gives an average yield of 2qtl/acre of seeds. The variety matures in 85 days. It has white color seeds which contain 50% oil content.
 

Plough land once with help of desi /country plough followed by 1-2 cross harrowing. Level the soil to avoid water logging condition in the field.

Time of sowing
Optimum time for sesame cultivation is in first week of June to first week of July.

Spacing
Keep spacing of 30cm between row to row and 15 cm between plant to plant.

Sowing Depth
Avoid deep sowing of sesame seeds. Sow seeds at depth of 3-4 cm.

Method of sowing
For sowing of sesame, pora or drill method is adopted. 
 

Seed Rate
Use seed rate of 2 kg/acre.

Seed Treatment
Seed treatment with Carbendazim@2gram/liter or Thiram@4gram/liter of water will protect seeds from attack of soil borne fungus. After chemical treatment, treat seeds with Trichoderma viride or Trichoderma@4gram/kg seeds.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

At time of field preparation, apply well decomposed cowdung@4 ton/acre. Broadcast or drill all nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash at time of sowing.
 

As it is grown in kharif season, less irrigation is required. Provide protective irrigation depending upon rainfall intensity and rainfall frequency. Avoid water stress at flower initiation and capsule formation.

To keep field weed free, take first weeding 20-25 days after sowing. Second weeding is done after 40-45 days of sowing. To control weed chemically, apply pre-emergence herbicides like Fluchloralin @ 800 ml /acre or Alachlor @ 600 ml per 100liter of water per acre.

• Pest and their control:
  

Bihari Hairy Caterpillar: Feed on leaves as well as on all part leaving only stem.

If infestation is observed, to control take spray of Dimethoate@20ml/10Ltr of water.

Gall Fly: Maggots feeds on floral buds. Infested plant does not develop capsules.

At initial stage, take spray of Neem formulation@3gm/10Ltr of water. In case of severe infestation, take spray of Carbaryl 50 WP@900gm/acre in 150 litre of water or Dimethoate@20ml/10Ltr of water.

Leaf Webber or Capsule Borer: Young larvae roll into few leaves and feed on them. Plants do not produce branch or shoot. At flowering stage borer feeds on capsules and seed thus affect yield.

At initial stage, take spray of Neem formulation@3gm/10Ltr of water. In case of severe infestation, take spray of Carbaryl 50 WP@900gm/acre in 200 litre of water or Dimethoate@20ml/10Ltr of water. 
 

Hawk or Dead head moth: Caterpillar attacks on leaves and feed on them. Affected plant do not produce any branches.

If incidence is observed, collect caterpillar and destroyed them away from field. If infestation is observed, to control, do spray of Carbaryl@800gm/acre.

• Disease and their control:
  

Phyllody: Plants do not produce flower, its flower part turn into leaf like structure.

Remove infestated plant and destroyed them away from field. Do soil application of Phorate@4kg/acre or spray crop with Dimethoate@20ml/10Ltr of water.

Powdery mildew: White powdery growth is observed on young leaves. In severe condition premature defoliation and fruit drop is observed.

If infestation is observed in field, take spray of Wettable Sulphur@25gm/10Ltr of water or Dinocap@5ml/10Ltr of water. If necessary take second spray with interval of 10days.

Cercospora leaf spot: Small brown spots are observed on the leaves. In case of severe infestation, defoliation occur.

If infestation of disease is observed in field, take spray of Mancozeb@2gm/Ltr or Captan@2gm/Ltr or Carbendazim@2gm per Ltr of water.

Root rot: Infested roots become dark brown in colour and plant die in case of severe infestation.

Avoid monocropping and follow crop rotation. Before sowing do seed treatment with Carbendazim@2.5gram per kg of seed. Drench the soil with Carbendazim solution@2gm/Ltr of water.

Crop is ready for harvesting, when leaves and capsule changes its color to yellow and leaves start to defoliate. Do not delay harvesting to avoid shattering of capsule.

After harvesting, crop is tied into bundles and stacked on threshing floor for several days for proper drying. Seeds are separated from crops by gentle beating with sticks. After cleaning, seeds are dry in sun for three days. After then stored seeds in gunny bags.