Abstract

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is the most important oilseed crop in Ethiopia. In the present study, efforts were made to devise appropriate crop geometry to obtain improved yield. An irrigated field experiment was conducted from December, 2014 to March, 2015 at the experimental farm of Gode Polytechnic College, Gode, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia, in order to determine grain yield and yield components using factorial combinations of five intra row (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 cm) and four inter row (30, 40, 50 and 60 cm) spacing laid down in randomized complete block design with three replications. With the increase in intra row spacing from 5 to 25 cm,  plant height (cm), primary branches/plant, capsules/plant, seed yield/plant (g), 1000-seed weight (g) and grain yield (kg/ha) increased from 101.31 to 117.87, 2.01 to 3.27, 29.17 to 43.05, 3.73 to 8.38, 2.51 to 3.63 and 648 to 1114, respectively. The respective increase in these parameters with the increase in inter row spacing from 30 to 60 cm was 100.01 to 114.71, 2.46 to 3.18, 36.33 to 42.07, 5.78 to 8.20 and 3.05 to 3.54, respectively, except that grain yield increased from 1103 to 1423 at 40 cm and then declined to 1013 at 60 cm spacing. The present study suggests that 15 x 40 cm spacing would be used to maximize grain yield of moderately branching varieties such as variety Adi.

Key words: Sesame, row spacing, grain yield, Sesamum indicum