Effect of Varieties and Graded Levels of Sulphur on Yield, Quality and Economics of Summer Sesame

India is experiencing a severe scarcity of edible oil, owing to high demand caused by population growth, rising living standards and increased demand from oil-consuming sectors. Sesame crop cultivation is gaining traction as a way to overcome the oilseed gap. The main aim of this study is to identify the suitable high yielding cultivar of sesame and to standardize the sulphur levels to obtain higher yield and quality.

The present investigation was carried out at S.V. Agricultural College Farm, Tirupati campus of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University during summer, 2019 in factorial randomized block design (RBD) with four varieties (YLM-66, YLM-17, YLM-11 and Madhavi) and four levels of sulphur (0, 20, 40 and 60 kg S ha^-1).

The variety madhavi (V₄) took fewer days to attain 50% flowering and maturity and the variety YLM 66 (V₁) recorded higher number of capsules plant^-1, seed yield, protein content, gross returns, net returns and benefit: cost. Application of 60 kg S ha^-1 recorded higher yield and yield attributes, oil content, gross returns and net returns of sesame which was however found on par with 40 kg S ha^-1. The interaction between sesame varieties and sulphur levels in influencing all the above parameters were found to be non-significant. In conclusion, the present study revealed that the variety YLM 66 (V₁) with application of 60 kg S ha^-1 gave higher yield and quality of sesame.