Pygmy Sesame Plants for Mechanical Harvesting

A method of breeding a pygmy sesame crop, comprising the steps of:

• (a) crossing a pygmy sesame seed line that is homozygous for the pygmy allele designated py/py with a first standard height sesame seed line that is homozygous for the standard height allele designated PY/PY, said standard height sesame line having a mature plant height of substantially 120 cm or greater and said pygmy sesame having a mature plant height less than the height of said standard height sesame line, said crossing resulting in an F1 generation that is heterozygous for the pygmy allele designated PY/py;
• (b) selecting self-pollinated plants from said F1 generation to obtain an F2 generation, a portion of said F2 generation plants being homozygous for the pygmy allele designated py/py and having plants with a mature plant height less than the height of said standard height sesame line, one or more capsules at a height of at least 15 cm, and a greater harvest index than standard height sesame plants, said harvest index being the ratio of the weight of the sesame seed to the weight of the entire plant including seed;
• and,
• (c) selecting sesame plants from said F2 generation that exhibit said py/py pygmy allele designation and said plant height, first capsule height and greater harvest index characteristics of said mature pygmy sesame plant line.

A sesame line (Sesamum indicum) having pygmy characteristics comprising:

• a pygmy sesame seed line that is homozygous for the pygmy allele designated py/py resulting from a cross between a pygmy sesame line having the homozygous pygmy allele designation py/py with a standard height sesame line having the standard height allele designation PY/PY, which produces an F1 generation of sesame heterozygous for the pygmy allele designation PY/py that is crossed with other F1 generation plants to produce said pygmy sesame seed line that is homozygous for the pygmy allele designation py/py;
• said pygmy sesame seed line produces pygmy sesame plants with a mature plant height greater than 52 cm and less than the substantial height of a mature standard sesame plant and said mature pygmy sesame plants produced by said pygmy sesame seed line have one or more capsules at a height of at least 15 cm;
• and,
• said pygmy sesame seed line produces mature pygmy sesame plants exhibiting a higher harvest index on a weight basis than plants with non-pygmy sesame crops wherein said harvest index is the ratio of weight of the harvested seed to the weight of the entire plant including seed.