Evaluation of Water Use Efficiency and Grain Yield of Sesame Cultivars as a Second Crop Under Different Irrigation Regimes

Abstract

This 2-year research was carried out in Ramhormoz to evaluate the effect of different irrigation regimes on water use efficiency (WUE) and grain yield of sesame cultivars. The experiments were arranged as spilit plot based on RCB design in four replications with irrigation treatments (I1, I2, I3 and I4: irrigation after 150, 200, 250 and 300 mm evaporation from class-A pan) in main plots and sesame cultivars (Yellow witte, TN238, TS3, Safiabadi and local cultivar of Ramhormoz) in subplots. Plant height, leaves per plant, biological yield and grain yield were decreased with increasing the severity of water deficit. All these traits were positively correlated with each other, suggesting that a decline in one of them could have a deleterious effect on sesame performance in the field. TS3 was a superior cultivar in plant height, biological and grain yields under all irrigation treatments. The harvest index of all sesame cultivars was increased with decreasing water availability. Thus, water limitation reduces biological yield more than grain yield in sesame. TS3 had the highest WUE in both years. The highest WUE was obtained under severe water deficit, indicating that sesame can produce acceptable yield with low water consumption.

Keywords

• Harvest Index
• Sesame
• Water Limitation
• Water Use Efficiency
• Yield