article · International Journal of Agronomy
Sesame represents a vital export oil crop in Ethiopia, yet yields remain constrained by suboptimal farming techniques. Field trials conducted in Western Tigray evaluated the effects of four organic mulches, applied at ten tonnes per hectare after germination, against an unmulched control. The tested mulches were rice straw, sorghum straw, sesame straw, and Sudan grass, tested on the Setit-1 sesame variety. Results showed that mulching significantly boosted both sesame grain yields and soil moisture retention across multiple depths over the growing cycle. While sesame straw proved most effective at conserving soil water content, Sudan grass mulch achieved the highest grain yield of 664 kilograms per hectare. In contrast, the control treatment yielded only 190 kilograms per hectare, demonstrating that organic mulching substantially improves sesame production under field conditions.
Sesame is a critical export crop, but water scarcity and poor agronomic methods often restrict harvest volumes. Demonstrating that readily available agricultural residues like Sudan grass and crop straws can triple crop yields through moisture conservation provides practical evidence for improving farm productivity and protecting valuable oilseed crops in dry environments.
This applied agricultural research offers direct practices for sesame growers and agronomic extension services looking to raise yields using locally available plant residues. The approach is field-tested and represents an agronomic practice ready for farm-level trials and local extension programmes, though scaling depends on the availability and cost of gathering ten tonnes per hectare of organic straw.
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Sesame ( Sesamum indicum L. ) is one of the chief foreign exchange earning oil crops in Ethiopia. However, its productivity remains low due to lack of appropriate agronomic practices. The aim of this research was to study the effect of organic mulches on sesame productivity and in situ moisture conservation. This experiment was carried out in Humera Agricultural Research Center, Western Tigray, during 2015 growing season. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. There were four types of organic mulches; rice straw, sorghum straw, sesame straw, and Sudan grass were compared with control. Sesame, variety Setit-1 was used in the experiment. The organic mulching rate of application was 10 ton ha −1 and this was applied evenly to the soil immediately after germination. Soil water content, phonological characteristics yield, and yield components of sesame were collected. The analyzed results indicated that organic mulching had significant effect on soil moisture content at 0–0.2 m, 0.21–0.4 m, and 0.41–0.6 m in every two-week interval after sowing and grain yield of sesame. Sesame straw conserved highest soil moisture content as compared with respective mulch material. The highest yield (664 kg ha −1 ) was recorded with Sudan grass while the lowest grain yield (190 kg ha −1 ) was recorded with no mulch.
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DOI: 10.1155/2017/4767509
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