Performance of summer sesame (Sesamum indicum) under different irrigation regimes and nitrogen levels

A field experiment was conducted at the BCKV Farm, Mohanpur, West Bengal during summer 2006 and 2007 to study the effect of irrigation and nitrogen on performance of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). The results of the experiment showed that 3 irrigations at branching, flower initiation and capsule formation stages i.e. 30, 45 and 60 days after sowing of the crop enhanced sesame productivity by 48.9, 32.6, 19.2% over unirrigated control (554 kg/ha), irrigation at flower initiation (622 kg/ha) and irrigation at flower initiation + capsule fermation (692 kg/ha) stages, respectively. Application of 80 kg N/ha produced maximum seed yield that was higher by 16.6 and 23.7% over 40 kg N/ha and control (590 kg/ha), respectively. On the other hand, 3 irrigations along with 80 kg N/ha registered maximum seed yield (920.3 kg/ha) and was found superior to other levels of irrigation and nitrogen. The N uptake increased with N fertilization upto 80 kg/ha, however its increase with irrigation was significant with 2 irrigations only. Water use efficiency was highest with 80 kg N/ha (2.73 kg/ha-mm) and unirrigated sesame (2.66 kg/ha-mm) based on net returns also 3 irrigations and 80 kg N application was the best.