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Sesame is an ancient oilseed, first recorded as a crop in Babylon and Assyria over 4,000 years ago. The crop has

since spread from the Fertile Crescent of the Ancient Near ast to be gro!n in many parts of the !orld on over "million acres. The biggest area of prod#ction is c#rrently believed to be $ndia, b#t the crop is also gro!n in China,

%orea, ssia, T#r'ey, (e)ico, So#th America and several co#ntries in Africa. *.S. commercial prod#ction reportedlybegan in the +"0s. Acreage in the *.S., primarily in Te)as and so#th!estern states, has ranged from +0,000 to-0,000 acres in recent years ho!ever, the *.S. imports more sesame than !e gro!. $t !o#ld ta'e at least +00,000

acres of sesame in the *.S. /#st to meet domestic demand, and prod#ction on more acres co#ld be e)ported.Thomas efferson recogni1ed the potential of sesame !hen he gre! it in test plots 2he referred to it as beni or

benne3, b#t -00 years later !e have done little to develop this crop in the *.S.

Sesame seeds are #n#s#ally high in oil, aro#nd "0 of the seed !eight, compared to -0 seed oil in soybeans.

Sesame is a fairly high val#e food crop, being harvested both for !hole seed #sed in ba'ing, and for the coo'ing oile)tracted from the seed. This !arm season ann#al crop is primarily adapted to areas !ith long gro!ing seasons and!ell drained soils. $t is considered dro#ght tolerant, b#t needs good soil moist#re to get established. Sesame has

been researched e)tensively in (isso#ri and seems to be !ell adapted to o#r gro!ing conditions.

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Plant Description

Sesame 5Sesam#m indic#m 26.37 is a broadleaf plant that gro!s abo#t " to 8 feet tall, !ith height dependent on thevariety and gro!ing conditions. 6arge, !hite, bell9shaped flo!ers, each abo#t an inch long, appear from leaf a)ils onthe lo!er stem, then grad#ally appear #p the stem over a period of !ee's as the stem 'eeps elongating. :epending

on the variety, either one or three seed caps#les !ill develop at each leaf a)il. Seed caps#les are + to + +;- incheslong, !ith < ro!s of seeds in each caps#le. Some varieties are branched, !hile others are #nbranched.

The light colored seeds are small and flat, !ith a point on one end. Seed si1e varies, b#t one report indicates thatsesame has ro#ghly +",000 seeds per po#nd. Since the flo!ering occ#rs in an indeterminate fashion, seed caps#les

on the lo!er stem are ripening !hile the #pper stem is still flo!ering. The lo!est flo!ers on a stem may not developinto pods, b#t pods !ill generally begin +- to -4 inches off the gro#nd and contin#e to the top of the stem. Sesame

is a long season crop, ta'ing abo#t +-" to +=" days from planting to mat#rity in (isso#ri. $f planted in early #ne,leaf drop !ill #s#ally occ#r in early >ctober, and the stem !ill begin drying do!n. ?lants stand #pright reasonably!ell !ith st#rdy stems, b#t strong !inds can force the plant into a leaning position late in the season.

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Utilization

The primary mar'et for sesame in the *.S. is #se in a variety of ba'ed goods and confections. The taste of sesamediffers among varieties, and can be negatively affected by poor post9harvest processing and storage. ?art of the

attraction of sesame for ba'ing is #ndo#btably its high fat 2"0 oil3 and high protein content 2#p to -" protein by!eight3.

Sesame oil carries a premi#m relative to other coo'ing oils and is considered more stable than most vegetable oilsd#e to antio)idants in the oil. After the oil is e)tracted from the seed, the remaining meal is a high protein material

s#itable for feeding to livestoc'. Altho#gh at this time sesame oil is #sed almost e)cl#sively for h#man foodcons#mption, it has potential for a variety of ind#strial #ses, as do most vegetable oils.

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Markets and Economics

Sesame benefits from both a high price and a strong domestic mar'et. Contract price is generally @0.-0 to @0.-- per

po#nd or more for conventionally gro!n sesame, !ith significantly higher prices for organic sesame. This high price,ro#ghly do#ble that of s#nflo!ers or soybeans, is offset by the relatively lo! yields of sesame. Typical test plot yieldsin (isso#ri d#ring +-9+4 !ere

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How to Grow Sesame

Sesame !ill perform best on fertile and !ell9drained soils, s#ch as silt loams. $t is adapted to sandy loam soils,

provided there is ade#ate moist#re d#ring seedling establishment. $t has been gro!n satisfactorily on silty clayloam soils, b#t soil cr#sting can be a problem in establishing sesame !hen clay content is higher. Sesame is not

adapted to poorly drained soils, and !ill not tolerate !ater logged conditions. Soils close to a ne#tral p of .0 arerecommended. Sesame can fit !ell !ith other s#mmer ann#als in a crop rotation, b#t may be sensitive to some soilpersistent herbicides. Sesame reportedly can provide some improvement in soil tilth or str#ct#re d#e to e)tensive

rooting.

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Variety Selection and Seed Sources

The only significant so#rce of sesame varieties and seeds c#rrently in the *.S. is the Sesaco Corporation 2+9

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