Evaluation of the Physiological and Agronomic Performance of New Sesame Varieties (Sesamum indicum L.) Introduced in Burkina Faso

Abstract

In Burkina Faso, where agriculture employs more than 80% of the working population and contributes more than 40% of GDP, stepping up research in this field is becoming necessary for sustainable food and economic resilience. Thus, this study was carried out on sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) to highlight the morpho-physiological and agronomic performance of new sesame varieties. The experiment was conducted at the Gameplay agropedagogical station, east of Ouagadougou. A randomized complete block design with 3 replications was used. The study revealed that seed emergence took place on 3 DAS, the start of flowering varied with variety, and the cycle length was 90 days for all varieties. Varieties SN103 (24.5 mm) and SN303 (23 mm) were the most vigorous. S42 produced more capsules (245.53 capsules/plant), while LC162 (155.33 capsules/plant) and SN303 (154.47 capsules/plant) produced fewer. SN103 (84.80 seeds/capsule) and SN203 (82.66 seeds/capsule) had more seeds. Seeds of all varieties are statistically the same weight (approx. 3.4 g/1000 seeds). Thus, in descending order of seed yield, we have: S42 (57.43 g/plant) HB168 (50.05 g/plant), SN103 (49.81 g/plant), SN203 (47.49 g/plant), SN303 (40.97 g/plant) then LC162(37.89 g/plant). The most productive variety of foreign origin is therefore HB168. It needs to be subjected to water deficit conditions to assess its adaptability.