A study of morphological and important agronomic characteristics in sesame accessions from the VIR collection

Background. Sesame (Sesamum indicum L., fam. Pedaliaceae Lindl.) is one of the sought-after oilseed crops due to its unique properties: high oil content combined with the presence of oleic and linoleic fatty acids, natural antioxidants, and vitamins in the oil. For this reason, sesame seeds are used for food and in pharmacy. However, the crop is labor-intensive and requires manual labor, because not all of its cultivars are able to reach seed maturity simultaneously. There are accessions with nondehiscent seed capsules in the VIR collection. An urgent task is to study the collection and identify promising sesame accessions with this trait.

Materials and methods. Sesame accessions were screened for their morphological and important agronomic characteristics, including the content of protein and oil, and fatty acid composition of the latter. The research material included inter alia old seed samples reproduced long ago (1981–1992). The study lasted from 2019 through 2023. Cv. ‘Solnechny’ served as the reference. Field assessment was performed under the conditions of Astrakhan Province at the Caspian Agrarian Federal Scientific Center.

Results and discussion. Main agronomic indicators were analyzed in 250 sesame accessions from VIR, and morphological characters in 175 accessions. The content of oil, protein, and fatty acids was quantified for 90 accessions. It was shown that oil content in sesame seeds depended on the genotype and growing conditions. The best accessions were selected according to a set of important agronomic indicators. Accessions with nondehiscent capsules were identified for future utilization in breeding practice based on genomic technologies.

1. Agidew M.G., Dubale A.A., Atlabachew M., Abebe W. Fatty acid composition, total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of white and black sesame seed varieties from different localities of Ethiopia. Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture. 2021;8(14):14. DOI: 10.1186/s40538-021-00215-w

2. Anilakumar K.R., Pal A., Khanum F., Bawa A.S. Nutritional, medicinal and industrial uses of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seeds. Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus. 2010;75(4):159-168.

3. Arzumanova A.M. Catalogue of the VIR global collection. Issue 41. Sesame and peanut. I.A. Sizov (ed.). Leningrad: VIR; 1969. [in Russian]

4. Asfandiyarova M.Sh., Tuz R.K., Dubovskaya A.G. Guidelines for sesame cultivation in Astrakhan Province (Metodicheskiye rekomendatsii po vozdelyvaniyu kunzhuta v Astrakhanskoy oblasti). Moscow; 2009. [in Russian]

5. Hiltebrandt V.M. Sesame (Kunzhut). Leningrad: VIR; 1931. [in Russian]

6. Jayaraj P., Narasimhulu C.A., Rajagopalan S., Parthasarathy S., Desikan R. Sesamol: A powerful functional food ingredient from sesame oil for cardioprotection. Food and Function. 2020;11:1198-1210. DOI: 10.1039/c9fo01873e

7. Kishlyan N.V., Asfandiyarova M.Sh., Yakusheva T.V., Dubovskaya A.G. Biological features and cultivation of sesame (a review). Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding. 2021;182(4):156-165). DOI: 10.30901/2227-8834-2021-4-156-165. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.30901/2227-8834-2021-4-156-165

8. Kishlyan N.V., Shelenga T.V., Asfandiyarova M.Sh., Dubovskaya A.G., Myagkova E.G. Catalogue of the VIR global collection. Issue 945. Sesame: Characteristics of accessions from the VIR collection under conditions of the Astrakhan region. St. Petersburg: VIR; 2025. [in Russian]

9. Kobayashi T. Goma no kita michi (Sesame road). In: Iwanamishoten. Tokyo; 1986. p.153-155. [in Japanese]

10. Langham D.G. Genetics of sesame: III. “Open sesame” and mottled leaf. Journal of Heredity. 1946;37(5):149-152. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a105603

11. Li C., Miao H., Wei L., Zhang T., Han X., Zhang H. Association mapping of seed oil and protein content in Sesamum indicum L. using SSR markers. PLoS ONE. 2014;9(8):e105757. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105757

12. Shelenga T.V., Solovyeva A.E., Sokolova D.V., Vasipov V.V., Smolenskaya A.E., Popov V.S. Rapid assessment of biochemical indicators of agronomic value in amaranth seed accessions from the VIR collection using NIR spectroscopy. Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding. 2025;186(1):52-60. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.30901/2227-8834-2025-1-52-60

13. Vakhrusheva T.E., Ivanenko E.N. Descriptor list for Sesamum indicum L. (Indian sesame, cultivated) (Klassifikator vida Sesamum indicum L. [kunzhut indiyskiy, kulturny]). Leningrad: VIR; 1985. [in Russian]

14. Yarosh N.P., Ivanenko E.N. Fatty acids and oil content of sesame seeds of various ecological types. Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding. 1984;88:48-54. [in Russian]

15. Yol E., Toker T., Golukcu M., Uzun B. Oil content and fatty acid characteristics in Mediterranean sesame core collection. Crop Science. 2015;55(5):2177-2185. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2014.11.0771