Effect of Nitrogen Fertilizer on Yield and Yield Components of Three Sesame Cultivars in Bushehr Province

A study was conducted in 2007 to investigate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 30, 60 Kg ha-1) on some agronomic characteristics, seed yield and oil percentage in three Sesame(Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars (Dashtestan, Darab 14, and Zarghan) in Kaki region (Bushehr Province). The type of design was completely randomized block with factorial arrangement and three replications. Nitrogen(N) fertilizer had a very significant effect on agronomic characteristics, such as number of capsules in the main stem, number of capsules per plant, branches /plant, biological yield, seed yield ,and oil percentage, but had no effect on 1000 seed weight. There was no significant difference between the application of 30 and 60 Kg of N fertilizer ha-1 with respect to harvest index. Seed yield increased as N rate increased, but each cultivar had a different response to different rates of nitrogen. Dashtestan and Zarghan had superiority over Darab 14 with respect to overall agronomic properties such as response to fertilizer and early maturity, but from the qualitative point of view, Darab 14 produced higher percentage of oil.