Sesame — 3Land preparation & sowing

• Field preparation

  Plough twice with a tractor, three times with a mould board plough or five times with a country plough, breaking clods between ploughings to get a fine tilth — the seeds are small. For irrigated sesame, form level beds of 10 or 20 m² without depressions, because stagnant water harms germination. In rice fallows, plough once at optimum moisture, sow immediately and cover with one more ploughing.

  Pending expert review

  Source

  Crop Production Guide – Agriculture 2020 (Directorate of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Sesame – Field preparation, p. 199

  Region

  Tamil Nadu

  Last updated

  2026-11-04

• Seed rate, sowing and thinning

  Use 5 kg of good-quality seed per hectare. Mix the seed with four times its volume of dry sand and drop it evenly along the fertilized furrows, 3 cm deep, preferably in lines 30 cm apart. Thin to 15 cm between plants on the 15th day and to 30 cm on the 30th day — this is very important to induce basal branches. In rice fallows, broadcast and thin to 11 plants per m².

  Pending expert review

  Source

  Crop Production Guide – Agriculture 2020 (Directorate of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Sesame – Seed rate, spacing, sowing & thinning, p. 201

  Region

  Tamil Nadu

  Last updated

  2026-11-04