Genetic variability analyses for economic traits in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) germplasm

The present study aims to reveal the importance of some quantitative traits and genetic variability existing in the 40 sesame germplasm accessions. The analysis of variance revealed the significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters studied viz. days to maturity, capsule length, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, leaf length, oil content, protein content, days to 50% flowering, number of branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, plant height, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant, which showed high heritability. The higher estimates of GCV were obtained for number of capsules per plant, number of branches per plant and seed yield per plant, while, it was moderate for capsule length, internode length, number of seeds per capsule and number of leaves per plant. Rest of the characters viz., days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, 1000-seed weight, leaf length, oil content and protein content showed low GCV. The characters like; capsule length, number of branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule and seed yield per plant exhibited high genetic advance coupled with high heritability, indicating better scope for improvement of these traits by an effective selection programme also indicated the predominance of additive gene effects, in controlling these traits.