Sesame Package of Practice
Varieties
The recommended varieties and their characteristics are as follows:
| Variety | Duration (days) | Oil content (%) | Seed colour | Seed yield (q/ha) | Remarks |
| Uma | 70-75 | 53 | Pale white | 10.00 | Capsules compactly arranged, escape shattering |
| Usha | 80-85 | 49 | Bright biscuit | 12.00 | Resistant to diseases and pests |
| Nirmala | 75-80 | 50 | White | 10.00 | Resistant to bacterial diseases |
| Prachi | 80-85 | 48 | Black | 12.00 | Resistant to major pest & diseases |
| Vinayak | 85-90 | 48 | Reddish | 6.00 | Glabrous, resistant to stem rot |
| Kanaka | 80-85 | 47 | Biscuit | 8.00 | Pods pubescent |
| Kalika | 80-85 | 49 | Brown | 8.00 | Resistant to leaf spot |
Land preparation
Sesame is grown as a rainfed crop on high lands and as a pre-rabi crop after early rice/jute/pulses. Well drained soils are suitable for growing sesame. Prepare the land to fine tilth. Apply compost or FYM @ 5 t/ha at final land preparation.
Seed treatment & Plant protection
Refer Annexure-III, IV & V.
Sowing
Seeds are small and should be sown shallow within a depth of 2 cm. Deep sowing may affect germination. Use a seed rate of 7 kg/ha in case of drilling in lines. Mix the seeds with sand when the crop is sown broadcast to ensure uniform sowing. Sow in lines 30 cm apart and thin plants to 10 cm between plants. Line sowing permits easy interculture and weed control. In line sown crop the plants come up uniformly. Sow the kharif crop with the onset of monsoon and pre rabi crop in September.
Fertilizer use
Sesame is an exhaustive crop and responds to fertilizers. Recommended fertilizer dose is 30-20-20 kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha. Apply full P2O5 and K2O and half of nitrogen as basal and the remaining nitrogen at first hoeing and weeding.
Interculture
First hoeing, weeding and thinning should be done at I5 days stage. Thinning should be done to keep the plants about 10 cm apart.
Harvesting
Harvest the crop when the plants start yellowing and drying of capsules commence. Harvest the plants and stack them for a week to allow the seeds in the upper capsules to ripen. Dry the plants keeping the plant tip towards the sun so that seeds do not drop from capsules. Threshing may be done after 3-4 days of drying.
IMPACT POINTS
1.Use of seeds from phyllody free crop
2.Line sowing, early weeding and thinning
3.Use of moderate dose of fertilizer