Performance evaluation of commercial sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars for yield and yield related traits in Wolaita, southern Ethiopia

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is cultivated in Ethiopia as a cash crop, export commodity, and raw material for sesame oil industries. It has surged up as a silver line regarding its contribution to the export earnings for Ethiopians. Sesame cultivation was not widely known in Wolaita area although the area could be a potential cultivation location for wider production of sesame in the country. Therefore, to evaluate performance in terms of yield and yield related traits for selection of the best performing cultivars to enhance productivity and larger production, ten sesame cultivars were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications at two districts (Humbo and Kindo-Koysha) for two years (2017-2018). Analysis of variance showed that cultivars Mehado-80 (154 cm), Adi (153 cm), and Tate (149 cm) have grown to significantly higher heights over the rest of the cultivars. Mehado-80 and Tate had a significantly higher number of primary branches (mean values across locations 9.3, 8.7 and 8.6, respectively). The cultivar Tate had the highest number of capsules (97.9) per plant, which had also the highest genotypic variation (428.54). The highest genotypic coefficient of variance (45.58%) was recorded for seed yield. Days to 50% flowering and 90% maturity exhibited the lowest phenotypic coefficient of variation, 7.16%, and 3.69%, respectively. Heritability in a broad sense (h2b) ranged from 13.32% for plant height to 32.43% for thousand seed weight. The interaction effects had showed no significant difference (P>0.05) for most of the studied traits. Cultivars Tate (1200 kg/ha), Serkamo (917 kg/ha) and Kelafo-74 (875 kg/ha) scored significantly higher seed yield at Kindo-Koysha site whereas Tate (1208 kg/ha, S (1042 kg/ha) and Mehado-80 (1021 kg/ha) scored significantly higher seed yield at Humbo site. Hence these cultivars could, respectively, be used as a potential cultivar for Kindo-Koysha and Humbo districts of Wolaita zone, while cultivar Tate exhibited the highest seed yield at both locations and hence recommended for Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia.