Document Type : Research Paper - Plant Breeding

Authors

• Mohammad reza Siahpoosh ¹
• Leila Nejadsadeghi ²
• Mohammad Sina Siahpoosh ³
• Saman Sheidaie ⁴
• Enayat Rezvani ⁴
• Hossein Sadeghi ⁴

¹ Associate professor of Molecular Physiology-Plant Breeding, Plant Production Engineering and Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

² Assistant Professor of Plant Breeding, Plant Production Engineering and Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

³ Student of Plant Production Engineering and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

⁴ Faculty members, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Seed & Plant Certification and Registration Research Institute, Karaj, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
 Sesame is one of the most important oil plants in the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions and is known as the queen of oil seeds. The high percentage of oil with the combination of suitable fatty acids, medicinal properties and very low water requirement are the characteristics of this oil plant. The main challenge for the lack of development of sesame cultivation all over the world is seed shattering at the time of ripening. Many efforts have been made to obtain non-shattering sesame cultivars with the characteristics of indehiscent capsule at the ripening stage and resistance to seed loss. In this article, we introduce and evaluate the agronomic characteristics of new indehiscent sesame cultivars named Barkat, Mohajer, Chamran and Dezful.
 
Material and Methods
 Indehiscent sesame cultivars with the proposed names of Barkat, Mohajer, Chamran and Dezful have been improved during a breeding program at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in collaboration with Shahid Rajaei Agriculture Company. For registration and commercialization, these cultivars were subjected to Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) tests and agricultural Value of Cultivation and Use (VCU) experiments under the supervision of the Seed & Plant Certification and Registration Research Institute during the two cropping years 2022-2023. In these experiments, new indehiscent sesame cultivars along with commercial cultivars of dehiscent sesame named Oltan, Sardar and Shevin as control cultivars were evaluated in four regions with different climatic conditions of Iran, including Dezful, Darab, Mughan and Gorgan in the frame of complete blocks design with four replications. In addition, the mechanized cultivation of four promising indehiscent sesame cultivars was performed separately in 100-hectare fields in the Dezful region, and harvesting was done with a combine harvester.
 
Results and Discussion
The highest plant height was obtained in Barkat with an average of 144 cm and the lowest in Chamran with 140 cm. The highest number of capsules per plant, with an average of 89.8 and the highest number of seeds per capsule, with an average of 72.3, was observed in the Mohajer. The thousand-seed weight was reported between 2.41 and 3.72 g in Dezful and Mohajer respectively. A significant difference (P≤0.01) was observed in the group comparison between indehiscent and dehiscent (control) sesame cultivars, whilst dehiscent cultivars with an average of 1.05 tons per hectare were completely superior to the control cultivars with 0.80 tons per hectare. The highest average seed yield of cultivars in different regions during two years of experiment was obtained with 1.08 tons per hectare in Barkat and Mohajer cultivars. In the mechanized harvesting of indehiscent sesame cultivars with a combine harvester, the amount of seed loss was estimated to be less than 2.8%. The evaluation of morphological traits showed that indehiscent sesame cultivars had indeterminate growth habits and could produce 1-6 sub-branches per plant depending on the genotype and plant density. The superiority of seed yield for all indehiscent sesame cultivars was observed in compare with the control cultivars. The indehiscent sesame cultivars had appropriate agronomic features and could increasing about 24% seed yield in compare to control cultivars. This issue promises a significant increase in sesame production in Iran.
Conclusion
Finally, Barkat, Mohajer, Chamran and Dezful sesame cultivars were introduced as the first cultivars with resistance to seed shattering during ripening in the country. In addition to the higher seed yield in compare to the control cultivars. These cultivars are able to be harvested using a combine harvester in the mechanized systems at the time of full ripening. Ultimately, the widespread use of these cultivars in the agricultural cultivation pattern of the country promises food security in oil production and water consumption reduction in the stressful season of summer.

Keywords

• Distinctness
• Grain yield
• Mechanized harvesting
• Uniformity and stability (DUS)
• Value of cultivation (VCU)

Main Subjects

• B: Plant Breeding