Nitrogen Accumulation By Sesame (Sesamum indicumL.) Grown in North Central Florida.

Production of sesame in the United State has remained relatively low despite the importation of $150,000,000 of sesame oil and seed in 2013.  Prior to 1943 production of sesame in the United States was limited by high labor cost associated with manual harvesting techniques until the discovery of an indehiscent mutant gene by Derald Langham.  The single recessive indehiscent gene made mechanical harvesting of sesame practical.  A trials\ conducted in 1954 across the United States showed the highest yields in College Station, TX with average yields across 24 varieties at 1124 kilograms per hectare.  Since that time, the production and development of sesame as an agronomic crop has been focused in the mid-west.  However, the company that Derald Langham founded, Sesaco, has establish one of the largest sesame breeding programs in the world with over 41,000 different sesame lines with the development of new varieties the geographic range for sesame has been expanded.  In 2012, commercial production of sesame began in North Central Florida; however, little is known about the potential yields in this area and the crop’s nutrient uptake patterns in this semi-tropical environment.  Research was initiated at the University of Florida’s Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, Florida to evaluate four sesame varieties for nitrogen and dry matter accumulation. The amount of nitrogen accumulated in sesame during the 2013 and 2014 growing seasons was quantified using total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) for the above ground biomass of all sesame varieties at five times during the growing season. TKN will also be measured for the below ground biomass for two of the varieties.