Performance of sesamum (<i>Sesamum indicum</i> L.) varieties under different sowing windows

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important oilseed crop valued for its high oil content, nutritional quality, and adaptability to varied agro-climatic conditions. To enhance productivity and support self-sufficiency in edible oil, the present study was conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Tirupati, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, during 2021–22 and 2022–23 to evaluate the performance of sesame varieties under different sowing windows. The treatany paper on the website of ments were three sowing windows viz., II Fortnight (FN) of December, I FN of January and II FN of January as main plots and three varieties of sesame (Madhavi, Swetha and YLM-66) of sesame as sub- plots in split plot design and replicated thrice. The study results during both the years revealed that days to attain different phenological stages, heat units, growth parameters (plant height, number of branches plant-1, dry matter production), yield attributes (number of capsules plant-1, number of seeds capsules-1, 1000 seed weight) and yield (930.9 and 832.0 kg ha-1) of sesame were statistically higher with II FN of January sown crop but the least values of recorded parameters were with II FN of December sown crop. Similarly, the variety YLM-66 resulted in maximum growth, yield attributes and yield of sesame whereas Swetha variety recorded the least of above parameters. Non-significant variation was noted with respect to days to attain different phenological stages of sesame and heat units due to varieties. Based on the above results, it was concluded that sesame produces higher yield when sown during II FN of January with the variety YLM-66.