Sesame farming is a rewarding agricultural practice that requires careful planning and adherence to best practices to ensure a successful harvest. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the essential steps involved in cultivating sesame crops, from land preparation to harvesting. Designed for farmers and agricultural enthusiasts, it covers critical aspects such as soil requirements, seed sowing, fertilizer management, weed control, pest and disease management, and harvesting techniques.
Land Preparation and Soil Requirement
- Harrow the soil to a fine tilth for effective performance of the crop.
- Pre-planting herbicide, Glyphosate at the rate of 4 L/ha should be sprayed two weeks to planting.
- Sesame is adaptable to many types of soil but it does best on well-drained sandy loam soil.
- The crop is usually produced on upland plains while depressions and valleys are generally unsuitable.
- Once established, it can tolerate short periods of drought.
- Good drainage is crucial, as sesame is very susceptible to short periods of waterlogging.
- Sesame is intolerant of very acidic or saline soils.
- The optimum pH for growth ranges from 5.4 to 6.7.
Seed Rate and Time of Sowing
- Recommended seed rate is 8 kg/ha for broadcasting and 4 kg/ha for drilling methods.
- Sesame seed should be treated with any of these seed treatments (mefenoxam or cymoxanil or seed care or disease force or combination).
- Recommended practice for a sole crop of sesame is to plant on a flat bed with 60 cm between rows and 10 cm within rows.
- Planting on ridges with 75 cm between rows and 15 cm within rows can be adopted when sesame is intercropped with another crop.
- Due to the small size of sesame seeds, sowing depth should not be more than 2.5 cm.
- Planting sesame is the most critical phase of its management.
- Successful establishment of sesame requires careful seedbed preparation and close attention to soil moisture.
- The crop can be grown twice as an early or late crop, or once a year depending on the ecological zone.
- In the Sudan savanna zones, broadcasting should be done within the end of June and early July while in the Guinea Savanna zones, it is done within late July to early August.
- Soil moisture must be sufficient to guarantee good germination.
- The critical stage of water requirement is during the flowering stage.
- Thinning should be done when the plants attain a height of 10–15 cm to remove the weak and diseased plants.
Fertilizer Management with 4R Nutrient Stewardship
- Sesame requires: 60–70 kg Nitrogen/ha, 20–30 kg Phosphorus, 20–30 kg Potassium/ha.
- Apply 2 bags of 50 kg (100 kg) Indorama NPK fertilizer as basal dose during land preparation.
- Apply 2 bags of 50 kg (100 kg) Indorama Neem Coated Urea at 3 weeks of sowing and again 2 bags of 50 kg (100 kg) Indorama Neem Coated Urea should be incorporated at 5 weeks after sowing.
- Indorama Fertilizer: Improving Agriculture, Improving Lives
How to Reduce Fertilizer Loss
- Apply only the recommended dose of urea fertilizer.
- Split application of urea fertilizer.
- Use dribbling as method of urea fertilizer application.
- Avoid broadcast method of fertilizer application to avoid wastage.
- Apply urea fertilizer late in the evening or early in the morning.
- Apply urea fertilizer after weeding to avoid competition from indigenous weeds.
- Proper water management practices (avoid excessive irrigation).
- Proper drainage will reduce urea fertilizer loss due to runoff.
Weed Control
- Sesame grows slowly during the early stages and is not strongly competitive with weeds.
- Poor weed control early in the life of the crop can result in greatly reduced crop yields.
- Weed control is achieved via thorough land preparation, appropriate use of fertilizer and keeping the surroundings of farm weed-free.
- Hoe weeding is done at least twice at 3 and 6 weeks after sowing.
- Use of pre-emergence herbicide (Pendimethalin 750/ha) and post-emergence herbicide (Quizalofop-ethyl 40/ha). Alternatively clethodim or haloxyfop as post-emergence at 20 days after sowing.
Pest and Diseases Management
- Pest and diseases are generally less in sesame fields.
- Caterpillar and gall fly are the common pests of sesame.
- Employ seed treatment to control seed-borne diseases.
- Use of fungicide (Azoxystrobin) if notice of fungal infection.
Harvesting
- Harvest Sesame when the leaves and stem change from green to yellow, if the leaves are still drop from plants.
- Harvesting is delayed, shattering of the capsules will result in seed loss.
- Harvested plants should be stacked in the field for a few days to dry before stripping the pods.
- Drying should continue under the sun for 6–7 days until the moisture content is reduced.
- Sesame seed is best stored unshelled and in cool conditions.
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