Effect of calcium silicate from cement industry on growth, yield components and its accumulation of the 2 red sesame cultivars

Abstract

Red sesame is an economic crop in Thailand that are popularly consumed in the oil industry through the process of polishing and replacing the white sesame which is insufficient for demand. Their characteristics are easy to grow, low cost, resistant to drought, requires less water than other field crops, resistant to climate changes, high yields per rai, resistant to disease and high amount of antioxidants. Red sesame cultivars such as Ubon Ratchathani 1 and Ubon Ratchathani 2 are popular because there are resistant to climate changes and show a high yield. Calcium silicate is beneficial for plants, for example, supports development of root and fruit and it helps to increase crop productivity, protect the plants from environmental stress conditions and reduce the damage from pest infestation. The aim of this study was to research the optimum calcium silicate level for growth and yield components and its accumulation of 2 red sesames; Ubon Ratchathani 1 and 2. The experimental design was 2 × 5 Factorial in completely randomized design (CRD) with 8 replications Factor A consisted of two cultivars of red sesame (Ubon Ratchathani 1 and Ubon Ratchathani 2) and factor B included five calcium silicate levels (0, 200, 400, 600 and 800 kg/rai). The results found that Ubon Ratchathani 1 had higher height and stem dry weight at all levels of calcium silicate. For yield components, Ubon Ratchathani 2 had the highest values for pod dry weight, number of pods/plant and seed yield/plant. Based on silicon accumulation, Ubon Ratchathani 1 with 400 kg/rai of calcium silicate application resulted the highest percentage of silicon on seed with statistical significance.