Assessment of physiological efficiency in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) under drought

Abstract

The present research project is proposed to identify the genetic variations and characterize the available sesame (Sesamumindicum L.) germplasm for high yield, with high physiological efficiency under drought to meet national food security objective. Sesame the ‘queen of oilseeds’ for its high oil content and quality (Johnson et al, 1979) widely grown crop in tropical and subtropical areas, is documented as the most ancient oil crop providing humans with essential daily energy. Vegetable oil consumption is expected to reach almost 200 billion kilograms by 2030 (Troncoso-Ponce et al 2011), which will increase the demand for oil-rich crops. Compared to other edible oil crops such as soybean, rapeseed , peanut, and olive, sesame has innately higher oil content (approximately 55% of dry seed) (Wei et a l 2013). Like many other crop species sesame is unfortunately sensitive to drought during its vegetative stage (Boureima et al., 2011). The sensitivity of sesame to drought is reflected in the changes that occur subsequently in its metabolism, growth, development and yield. So far some work has been focused with confined genotypes or pot culture studies for variability in the response to drought stress has been observed between sesame genotypes, with some exhibiting a high degree of tolerance, while others are extremely sensitive (Boureimaet al., 2011). As sesame is cultivated in semi-arid regions across the world, production potential is often limited by drought. In India sesame cultivated over an avg. area of >17 lakh ha with a production of >7 lakh tonnes and productivity of 413 kg/ha and more than 85% production comes from West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh (status paper on oilseeds). This productivity is often fluctuate due to severe drought prevails during rabi and summer season cultivation and intermittent drought (long episode of drought in between two rainfall) during kharif season. Therefore the study is aimed to assess the sesame drought tolerance to support the crop improvement program with an objectives of (i) Physiological characterization of sesame germplasm and core collection under drought condition (ii) Impact of drought on oil content and fatty acid profile of sesame selected lines