Significant Heterosis Detected from Hybridization of Parents with Agro-morphological Variability in Sesame ( Sesamum indicum L.)

Sesame is an important oilseed crop in Burkina Faso. However, varieties currently under cultivation are low yielding and susceptible to biotic or abiotic stresses. In such a context, an increase in sesame production would be possible either from an increase in the crop cultivation area or improvement of productivity traits. To create new and more productive varieties, seven lines from a local cultivar referred to as Senekuru were crossed with the improved and popular variety S42 during the dry season 2018-19, at Farakoba research station. Mid-parent heterosis, heterobeltiosis and the variability within the material were assessed during the rainy season 2019 using an Augmented Block Design. Standard agronomic practices were applied to the trials. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all the traits. Mid-parent heterosis and heterobeltiosis varied from cross to cross and from trait to trait. Concerning seed yield, the best value of mid-parent heterosis (87.44%) was obtained with Senekuru-3-1/S42, while Senekuru-2-1/S42 presented the best heterobeltiosis (40.34%). The main yield contributing traits in sesame production were plant height, branch number, and capsule number. Then, it was contended that hybrid seeds can significantly increase sesame productivity, provided that a practical hybridisation approach is applied.