Abstract

Sesame, Til or gingelly is an important oilseed and an article of food. It has been found in cultivation in the tropical countries, particularly in India and the Orient from very ancient times. All the cultivated forms and types come under the species Sesamum indicum, Linn. It is not known to have been found in the wild state by the earlier systematists. Hooker (1885) mentions three species of Sesamum of which S. indicum, Linn. is one. Gamble (1924) also has described the same three species as Hooker. Thiselton Dyer (1906) speaks of 17 species of Sesamum including S. orientale, Linn. But none of these authorities has mentioned any varieties of S. indicum, Linn. The species is very variable, growing as it does over a wide, extent of the globe, for many centuries. Kashi Ram (1929) des- cribed 30 types of Sesamum occurring in India and Burma.

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