Assessing the Response of Sesame to Inorganic and Organic Nutrient Sources

Sesame (Sesamum indicum. L) is one of the main sources of livelihoods in northern Uganda. However, its production is constrained by low soil fertility and moisture levels. A study was conducted at Serere, Uganda in 2013 and 2014 to investigate the effect of organo-mineral fertilizers on growth, seed yield and nutritional quality of sesame. The design of the experiment was a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments comprised: control (no soil amendment), mixtures of 4 crop residues each at (3 and 6 t/ha) and two rates of N, P and K. Finger millet husks (3 t/ha) plus lower fertilizer rate (30 kg N-25 kg P-40 Kg K/ha) had significantly higher seed yield of sesame; while finger millet husks (6 t/ha) plus higher fertilizer rate (60 kg N-50 kg P-80 Kg K/ha) significantly increased vegetative growth of sesame. Finger millet husks (6 t/ha) plus lower fertilizer rate had significantly higher seed crude protein content of sesame; while cowpea husks (3 t/ha) plus higher fertilizer rate and groundnut shells (3 t/ha) plus lower fertilizer rate produced significantly higher seed total ash and seed oil content of sesame, respectively. This study has demonstrated that application of a mixture of crop residues and inorganic fertilizers is the best treatment in enhancing growth, seed yield and nutritional seed quality of sesame.