Executive Summery

Sesame is considered one of the oldest and most important oil seeds known to mankind. Furthermore, it is distinguished with economically important and widely distributed overall the world, however, it is heavily grown in developing countries compared to developed countries. The sesame varieties spread throughout the Asia. Sesame seeds are used in various food and snack preparations as well as in salad dressing. The importance of the sesame crop in the whole world is increasing due to its a rich source of calcium, phosphorus, and protein, in addition, to be an economic oil. Sesame seeds contain the highest oil.  

Sesame seeds can be cultivated on different soil types, but ideal soils for sesame cultivation should be characterized by good drainage, ventilation, and high fertility to achieve high production of seeds. The plant is usually 60 to 120cm. Sesame falls into the category of chilling-sensitive plants (0–15°C), along with crops such as rice, maize, soybean, cotton, and tomato. These plants are unable to enhance freezing tolerance when exposed to low temperature. For commercial sesame varieties, the optimum temperature ranges from 25oC to 27oC, while it requires 90–120 frost-free days to achieve optimal yields in cold regions.  

The production of sesame yields in developing countries is much higher than in developed countries, where sesame production in Asia and Africa represented more than 93% of global production. Asia produces half of the world's production of sesame crop, followed by Africa with an average yield of about 43%. Europe produces small quantities of sesame seeds and converts them into oil, showing that there is a higher demand for oil than for the seeds themselves, whereas the opposite applies in both Asia and Africa.  

The total cultivated sesame area in Sri Lanka has grown up from about 11,264 ha in 1961 to near 34000 ha by 2017, with an increase of around 300% during this period in 2017, Egypt is the eighteen largest producers of sesame in the world, the sesame cultivated area was about 34000 ha which producing about 1.29 ton/ha and the total productions was 44000 ton.