Yield, yield characteristics and sequential path analysis of sesame (Sesamum indicum) as affected by organic fertilizers

A field experiment was conducted 2017 and 2018 at the experimental farm of Agricultural Research station, Arab EL-Awamer, Agriculture Research Center (A.R.C.), Assiut Governorate, Egypt, to evaluate the effect of different organic sources of nutrients superimposed on inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). The experiment included 14 factorial treatments, consisting of 2 sesame cultivars, viz. ‘Shandaweel 3’ and ‘Giza 32’, and 7 combinations of cattle and sheep manures fertilizers. ‘Shandaweel 3’ cultivar exhibited significant superiority to ‘Giza 32’ sesame with regard to most of studied characters except first capsule height across the 2 seasons. Among the organics manures, application of 2.5 tonnes sheep manure and 4 tonnes cattle manure resulted in the maximum values of fruit zone length, 1,000-seed weight and seed yield in the 2 seasons with significant differences compared to the control. The interaction effect between cultivars and manures application was significant for all characters in the 2 seasons except first capsule height in the first season and fruit zone length in the second season. ‘Shandaweel 3’ fertilized with 2.5 tonnes sheep manure gave the maximum seed yield in both the seasons. Results revealed positive and highly significant association between seed yield and its all related characters except first capsule height, which had no significant correlation coefficient with seed yield. A sequential path analysis was used to order the various variables based on their maximum direct effect and minimal collinearity.