Comparative Study of the Agronomic Performance of Two Sesame Varieties (Sesamum indicum L.): The Case of Local Variety of Central African Origin and Pakréssaya Variety of Burkinabe Origin

Abstract

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L) is a crop with high economic potential in Central African agriculture. This speculation is the subject of a booming international trade for its seeds, oil and meal. The objective of this study is to characterize the agro morphological variability of the two sesame accessions. The trial was conducted at the Bakéré Agricultural Research Station in Bossembele. The plant material used was composed of two sesame accessions from various sources (Central African Republic and Burkina Faso). The choice of land is marked by the delimitation of the plot, the staking and the surveying. The preparation of the soil was carried out in several stages. It is a plot of land of 0.75 hectares divided into three blocks of 0.25 hectares. Sowing took place on August 20, 2022.  Before sowing, the sesame is mixed with the sand to respect the rate per hectare because the seeds are too fine. The different parameters measured are: stem length, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant. The different parameters were assessed using the two-criteria analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the R software version 3.1.3. The results obtained showed that the Pakressaya variety is the earliest and gave the first flower at 31-32 days after sowing and reached 50% flowering at 33-34 days after sowing, thus reflecting the earliness in this variety. The variety (of Central African origin) is the latest and gave the first flower at 52-53 days after sowing and reached 50% flowering at 56-57 days after sowing with many more fruiting branches.  The pakressaya variety proved to be productive and was selected for the rest of our project. In perspective, it is envisaged to determine the genetic diversity of the Pakréssaya accession using microsatellite markers.