![]() Initiation of flowering is sensitive to photoperiod and sesame variety. While sesame crops can grow in poor soils, the best yields come from properly fertilized farms. Warm conditions above 23 ☌ (73 ☏) favor growth and yields. Commercial sesame crops require 90 to 120 frost-free days. However, these have a low tolerance for soils with high salt and water-logged conditions. The high-yielding crops thrive best on well-drained, fertile soils of medium texture and neutral pH. Sesame varieties have adapted to many soil types. The seed coat (testa) may be smooth or ribbed. The seeds are ovate, slightly flattened, and somewhat thinner at the eye of the seed (hilum) than at the opposite end. Typically, the seeds are about 3 to 4 mm long by 2 mm wide and 1 mm thick ( 15⁄ 128 to 5⁄ 32 × 5⁄ 64 × 5⁄ 128). Their sizes vary with the thousands of varieties known. The degree of dehiscence is of importance in breeding for mechanised harvesting, as is the insertion height of the first capsule. The fruit naturally splits open ( dehisces) to release the seeds by splitting along the septa from top to bottom or by means of two apical pores, depending on the varietal cultivar. The length of the fruit capsule varies from 2 to 8 centimetres ( 3⁄ 4 to 3 + 1⁄ 8 in), its width varies between 0.5 and 2.0 centimetres ( 13⁄ 64 and 25⁄ 32 in), and the number of loculi varies from four to 12. Sesame fruit is a capsule, normally pubescent, rectangular in section, and typically grooved with a short, triangular beak. from the Seikei Zusetsu agriculture encyclopedia It was a crop that could be grown by subsistence farmers at the edge of deserts, where no other crops grow. It is also a robust crop that needs little farming support-it grows in drought conditions, in high heat, with residual moisture in soil after monsoons are gone or even when rains fail or when rains are excessive. Historically, sesame was favored for its ability to grow in areas that do not support the growth of other crops. Others believe it may have originated in Ethiopia. Archeological reports indicate that sesame was grown and pressed to extract oil at least 2750 years ago in the empire of Urartu. Excavations of King Tutankhamen uncovered baskets of sesame among other grave goods, suggesting that sesame was present in Egypt by 1350 BC. Egyptians called it sesemt, and it is included in the list of medicinal drugs in the scrolls of the Ebers Papyrus dated to be over 3600 years old. ![]() Some reports claim sesame was cultivated in Egypt during the Ptolemaic period, while others suggest the New Kingdom. It is possible that the Indus Valley civilization exported sesame oil to Mesopotamia, where it was known as ilu in Sumerian and ellu in Akkadian. It has been claimed that trading of sesame between Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent occurred by 2000 BC. Īrchaeological remnants of charred sesame dating to about 3500-3050 BCE suggest sesame was domesticated in the Indian subcontinent at least 5500 years ago. indicum, the cultivated type, originated in India. ![]() Most wild species of the genus Sesamum are native to sub-Saharan Africa. The genus has many species, and most are wild. Sesame seed is considered to be the oldest oilseed crop known to humanity. The word "benne" was first recorded to be used in English in 1769 and comes from Gullah benne which itself derives from Malinke bĕne. From these roots, words with the generalized meaning "oil, liquid fat" were derived. The word "sesame" is from Latin sesamum and Greek σήσαμον: sēsamon which in turn are derived from ancient Semitic languages, e.g., Akkadian šamaššamu. Like other foods, it can trigger allergic reactions in some people. With a rich, nutty flavor, it is a common ingredient in cuisines around the world. Sesame has one of the highest oil contents of any seed. It tolerates drought conditions well, growing where other crops fail. Sesamum has many other species, most being wild and native to sub-Saharan Africa. Sesame seed is one of the oldest oilseed crops known, domesticated well over 3,000 years ago. World production in 2018 was 6 million metric tons (5,900,000 long tons 6,600,000 short tons), with Sudan, Myanmar, and India as the largest producers. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. Sesame ( / ˈ s ɛ s ə m i/ Sesamum indicum) is a plant in the genus Sesamum, also called benne.
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