Morphological evaluation of selected sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes from five states in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

The morphological characteristics of 12 selected sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes, from five states in northern part of Nigeria (Kaduna, Niger, Nassarawa, Kogi, and Benue), were evaluated during the 2012 cropping season at the Department of Biological Sciences experimental field, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria using a randomized block design. The objective of the experiment was to assess the performances of all the selected genotypes based on morphological parameters such as plant height, petiole length, number of leaves/plant, number of branches per plant and leaf surface area per plant. While NG01 had the tallest plants 2 weeks after planting, KG01 and NA01 had the shortest plants. Seven genotypes; (KD, NG-01, NG-02, NA-01, BE-01, KG-01 and KG-02 had positive characteristics (such as higher number of leaves and high number of branches) which could bring about high yield. These findings suggest that some of the genotypes could be potential parents for inclusion in future breeding programmes aimed at improving S. indicum in northern Nigeria.