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Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is being considered for commercial production in the southeastern USA, but very little is known about its potential and the appropriate management practices required to achieve sustainable yield potential in the area. This study thus aims to determine the optimal planting date and row spacing for several sesame cultivars. Traits examined were yield, plant height, number of nodes on the main stem, number of branches, height to first capsule on the main stem, and number of plants per meter. A first trial investigated three planting dates in Citra, FL (May, June, and July); whereas a second one examined several row spacings at two locations: 19 and 38.1 cm in Citra; and 19, 38.1, and 76.2 cm in Live Oak, FL. The May planting date showed higher yields, number of nodes, and taller plants than the other dates. Accumulated air and soil growing degree days (GDDs), rainfall, and solar radiation values were calculated for each planting date in both years. Soil GDDs provided similar results to air GDDs; thus, either model would seem appropriate for predicting crop development in this region. Plant height, number of nodes with capsules, and number of branches were increased at wider row spacings in the Live Oak trials as compared with narrow rows. These two trials illustrated the potential of sesame for attaining economically sustainable yields in the southeastern USA, but further exploration and modeling of agronomic traits will be needed to reach the crop’s full yield potential in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sesame is a new crop for the southeastern USA, most recently being considered for this region because of frequent drought events in the historical farming area of the crop, that is, Texas and Oklahoma, and for overall expansion of its domestic production. Although sesame was introduced in the USA in the 19th century, its commercial cultivation was not possible before the 1990s with the release of non-dehiscent cultivars. The southeastern USA has been considered promising because of its greater annual precipitation as compared with the southwestern USA. In addition, sesame has some highly valuable agronomic characteristics that could make the crop a beneficial addition to crop rotations in the southeast. These crop characteristics include the following: nematode resistance potential, drought tolerance, nitrogen recovery ability, rotational suitability with the predominant agronomic crops in the region, and capacity to attract a wide variety of pollinators. Since very little United States-based literature is available on the crop, the objective of this review is to provide: 1) a sesame history in the USA; 2) a description of the botanical characteristics of the crop that make it suitable for mechanized production in the USA; and 3) an overview of the principal sesame production methods of interest for the southeastern USA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]