Effect of Sowing and Harvesting Methods on Sesame Production in Eastern Sudan (Kassala State)

Abstract

The study was carried out to give an approach towards improving efficiency of sesame partial harvesting by the binder, and to determine and to compare crop losses due to different sowing methods and harvesting with binder and manual. The experiment was conducted at Elgirba rainfed sector, Kassala State in an area of 12 fed in a completely randomized design during the seasons 2001 and 2002. The treatment included two sowing methods (row planting and broadcasting with wide level disc) at seed rate 3 Ib/fed and two harvesting methods (binder and manual). Three harvest losses (uncut plants, cut and untied and inverted plant within the bundle), harvest time per feddan, total yield and cost of harvesting per feddan were determined during the two seasons. Results indicated that the row planting method with both binder and manual harvesting recorded the lowest total mean losses (5.67% at season 2001 and 6.27% at season 2002), while broadcasting sowing with both binder and manual harvesting recorded the highest total mean losses (9.63% in season 2001 and 9.32% in season 2002). The binder total mean losses are (8.16% and 8.52%, season 2001 and 2002, respectively), while the manual harvesting total mean losses are (7.14% and 7.07% season 2001 and 2002, respectively). The rate of work for the binder was 3 fed/hr, while for the manual was found to be 0.04 fed/hr per labour. The binder method of harvesting gave the lowest cost for harvest per feddan (1283.34 SD in season 2001 and 945.31 SD in season 2002), while the manual harvesting method gave the highest harvest cost per feddan (2041.90 SD in season 2001 and 1581.25 SD in season 2002