Effects of different irrigation programs on flower and capsule numbers and shedding percentage of sesame

Irrigation is of great importance to sesame production in Mediterranean-type environments due to positive effect on flower and capsule numbers. Water stress limits sesame growth and development. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different irrigation programs on flower and capsule numbers, shedding percentage, and yield of sesame. The amount of water used was based on free surface evaporation from a screened class-A pan. Irrigation treatments consisted of three different irrigation intervals (I₁: 7-day; I₂: 14-day; I₃: 21-day), four plant-pan coefficients (K_cp1: 0.60; K_cp2: 0.80; K_cp3: 1.00 and K_cp4: 1.20). The first irrigation was carried out when the available water was at 40% level in the 90 cm of the soil profile. The results revealed significant linear relationships among the irrigation water, water consumption and total number of flower per plant. On the other hand, the highest total number of flower per plant and the highest shedding percentage were obtained from 7-day intervals. Irrigation interval-irrigation amount interaction was significant for the number of sound capsule per plant. The highest number of sound capsule was obtained from K_cp3 treatment at I₁ irrigation interval. Therefore, sesame yield increased by increasing the capsule number.