Nutrient uptake in sesame cultivars under cultivation in semiarid conditions

Abstract

Sesame is considered the oldest oleaginous seed in use by mankind. It is a culture of high morphophysiological complexity with great variability in growth habit. The accumulation of nutrients in the sesame crop is, in relative terms, proportional to its average productivity. It is a crop that requires the availability of sufficient amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to obtain a desired yield. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the uptake of nutrients for sesame cultivars in two growing seasons conditions semiarid. The experiments were performed in Horta Didatics of Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Ãrido, in Brazil, from November 2014 to February 2015 (Growing Season I); and from April to July 2015 (Growing Season II). The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications. Treatments were arranged in a split plot where cultivars (CNPA G2, CNPA G3, and CNPA G4) were placed on the following plots with harvesting dates 21, 35, 49, 63, 77, 91, and 105 days after sowing (DAS) of subplots. The vegetative part of the sesame crop had greater uptake of potassium in Growing Season I (the period from November 2014 to February 2015) and of nitrogen in Growing Season II (the period from April to July 2015) for all the cultivars, whereas in the fruits the greatest uptake was that of nitrogen, independent of growing season. As for the total uptake of nutrients at the end of the cycle, it followed the descending order N > K > P in both growing seasons. The period of greatest demand for nutrients occurred between 77 and 105 DAS. In relation to the cultivars, the CNPA G3 obtained larger uptakes in Growing Season I (the period from November 2014 to February 2015), while the CNPA G4 did so in Growing Season II (the period from November 2014 to February 2015).