Sesame production is important in agriculture, food industry, and the crop diversity due to its rich nutritional profile and health benefits. Despite its significant value, sesame is still an orphan crop that has received little scientific attention, resulting in low yield compared to other major oilseed crops. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the present state of production, knowledge, and research advancements concerning Sesamum indicum on a global scale. The FAOSTAT database was extensively used to examine the global trends from 1961 to 2021. In the past 60 years, global sesame production has substantially increased, with Asia and Africa being the primary producers. The integration of omics technologies and biotechnological interventions has revolutionized our understanding of the genetic basis of sesame, enhanced productivity, invigorated stress resilience, and improved seed quality. High-throughput sequencing methods such as RNA-seq, RAD-seq, SLAF-seq, and GBS technology are used in various studies, linkage mapping, and identification of trait-associated markers. Fine linkage maps, and multi-omics studies such as genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics have been employed in sesame research for gene and QTL mapping. Proteins and metabolic pathways related to oil content, yield, and stress tolerance were reported. Genes and QTLs related to yield and its components, drought, salt, and osmotic stress tolerance were discovered. Candidate genes associated with capsule shattering and seed shattering were recently revealed. For more achievement in sesame, it is important to enhance sesame production efficiency through mechanization, advanced agricultural practices, and knowledge dissemination to farmers. MAS and multi-omics integration should be particularly reinforced. The advancements in sesame production present a significant and promising opportunity for farmers, governments, and stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

ABSTRACTSesame cultivation was until recently restricted to the northwestern part of Benin. The yield is relatively low, as there are no improved varieties introduced and widely adopted so far. This study aimed to assess the molecular diversity, genetic differentiation, and the agronomic performance of a collection of local cultivars and introduced lines of sesame from China. The agronomic evaluation was conducted across eight environments during the 2020 cropping season using 14 descriptors on 19 accessions, including 6 introduced lines arranged in a randomized complete bloc design. Twelve simple sequence repeat markers were used to assess the molecular diversity. The analysis of variance showed significant variation among accessions for all the traits, except the number of lodges per capsule. Principal component analysis (PCA) followed by hierarchical clustering indicated that the accessions could be classified into three groups. The first group included accessions from China with the local accession SI09, characterized by early flowering and low seed yields (on average 380.13 kg ha−1). The second group included late flowering accessions and intermediate seed yield (on average 548.68 kg ha−1). The third group included higher yielding accessions (on average 715.7 kg ha−1). The PCA identified key traits such as days to 50% emergence, days to 50% flowering, collar diameter, plant height, number of branches, and seed yield as the most discriminative among accessions for agromorphological characterization. The SSR markers were polymorphic, with polymorphic information content values between 0.17 and 0.92. A total of 62 alleles were detected, with each locus exhibiting 2 to 15 alleles. The gene diversity ranged from 0.18 to 0.92, with an average value of 0.55. Cluster analysis based on the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean revealed that accessions were grouped in three clusters, with the coefficients of similarity/dissimilarity ranging between 0.60 and 0.92. Most of the Chinese lines were clustered together, except accession Y01. This study provided useful knowledge about local sesame cultivars in Benin and their similarities and differences with the lines introduced from China, therefore contributing to the advancement of the sesame‐breeding program in the country.

Summary Sesame is an oilseed crop and source of income for small-scale farmers, particularly in developing countries. In Benin, sesame production is poorly developed and the underlying reasons are still unknown. In this study, we investigated the sesame management practices, socio-demographic factors and ethnobotanical knowledge associated with sesame production, as well as the production constraints across four agroecological zones in Benin. In total, 370 farmers were surveyed based on a structured interview. Qualitative and quantitative data including socio-demographic parameters, management practices and knowledge associated with the crop, were recorded. A binary logistic regression was performed to explain the effects of socio-demographic parameters on management practices. The farm typology was generated through a principal component analysis followed by a cluster analysis. Cultivars were classified based on the seed coat colour and size. To assess the ethnobotanical knowledge related to sesame, use value, plant part used value and fidelity level were calculated. Our results showed that older farmers were more likely to practice intercropping than young farmers. In addition, male farmers applied more fertilisers and used more pesticide than female. Five distinct farm typologies were recorded in the four agroecological zones. Five different cultivars were recorded across the four agroecological zones. Sesame is mostly produced for local consumption as sauce and seed appetiser (mentioned by at least 73.23% of respondents). The seeds were the most used part of the crop. The lack of improved seeds, road impassability to the field, rarity of rain, non-availability of cultivable land for sesame production, lack of cash for farm operations were the main constraints to wide sesame production. We discussed the differences among farm typology and their productivity and proposed future research actions for expanding sesame production in Benin.

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) is a sustainable and inexpensive source of vitamin A that contributes to food and nutritional security in developing countries. Its adoption is low due to unconformity of the variety with community food culture, limited cultivar selection and breeding studies. The current study aimed at breeding of promi-sing OFSP genotypes in Benin using three parental lines. Two hundred and seventy-four seeds and one hundred and six genotypes were obtained through biparental crosses of Tio-joe (imported orange-fleshed variety), Vobodouaho (local white-fleshed variety) and ACAB220 (local orange-fleshed variety). The phenotypic diversity of genotypes was assessed using 10 leaf characters and storage root flesh colour through multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. The results indicated cross-compatibility between Tio-joe and ACAB220 when ACAB220 was used as female. Reciprocal cross-compatibility was found between ACAB220 and Vobodouaho. The genotypes could be separated into two main populations and classified into five cluster groups. Promising intermediate and pale orange genotypes were obtained indicating possibilities to incorporate beta-carotene into the white background of the Vobodouaho variety through further backcrossing.

Increasing production requires the development of high yielding cultivars adapted to various environments. Multi-environment trials (MET) remains the best approach to assess the performance of accessions across environments. The objective of this study was to select the best performing and stable accessions of sesame across different environments in Benin Republic. Nineteen sesame accessions were evaluated across eight environments using a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The accessions were evaluated for three traits: days to 50% flowering (D50F), thousand-seed weight (TSW), and seed yield (SY) during 2020 growing season. The stable and top-performing accessions across environments were determined using AMMI (Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction), GGE (Genotype main effect and genotype × environment interaction), and MTSI (Multi-trait stability index). AMMI analysis of variance showed a significant difference across environments for the three traits. The accessions were affected by environmental conditions for the three traits. The broad-sense heritability estimates were high (>0.60) for all the traits, indicating the improvement is achievable through selection. AMMI1 and AMMI2 biplots identified G10 and G13 as high seed yielding accessions adapted to environments E1, E2. The GGE biplot showed two mega-environments for TSW and three mega-environments for D50F and SY. For SY, G11 and G13 were the best accessions in the first mega-environment, G10 the best accession in the second mega-environment; G3 and G8 were the best accessions in the third mega-environment. AMMI and GGE analyses identified G10, G5, G12 as high seed yielding and stable accessions across environments. GGE biplot revealed that E1 and E2 were the most suitable environments for multi-location trials based on their discriminating ability and representativeness. MTSI indicated G10, G13, G19 as promising germplasm to be recommended for breeding program.

Africa and Asia bear the greatest cases of vitamin A deficiency whereas Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP) as a possible solution to vitamin A deficiency, brings income, food and nutritional security for smallholders involved in its production. Reports indicated low adoption of OFSP in West Africa due to poor value chains and wide adoption of White-Fleshed Sweetpotato (WFSP). Here, we reviewed OFSP interventions and programmes undertaken in West Africa, identified constraints limiting OFSP production, and updated the required actions for OFSP value chains development in West Africa. We reported 10 significant interventions and 20 released OFSP varieties within 4 countries. The main bottlenecks to OFSP value chains development are the lack of improved cultivars exhibiting high and stable yield potential, predominance of WFSP, non-exposition of whole population to OFSP varieties, limited number of improved OFSP varieties available, and inadequacy of improved OFSP varieties to smallholder preferences. The roles of donors, research institutions, local partners, and smallholder's contributions in increasing OFSP production and consumption are provided. This will fuel the development of strong OFSP value chains in West Africa.

Sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] plays an important role in ensuring food security and incomes for local communities. It is particularly grown in southern region of Benin, and its production over the last few years has declined due to disease and severe pest infestation. Therefore, it was imperative to carry out this study to identify the main constraints related to the recent decline in sweet production and more specifically analyzing the production and marketing constraints of sweet potato in the townships of Dangbo and Bonou.

Jatropha curcas is a plant with several attributes, multiples uses and considerable potentials. To mitigate the effects of climatic change, it is necessary to alleviate fossil power energy and increase biofuel energy. Plant-based fuels are among the best renewable sources, and their use can lead to a better balance of CO2 and other greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. The aim of this work was to study the progeny of intraspecific cross of J. curcas (Equator × Senegal (Dialocoto)) in order to improve the productivity of the cultivated species through intra specific hybridization. The results showed that hybrids obtained from the cross between Equator ecotypes and Senegal ecotype (Dialocoto) showed the best production traits. For the width and length of the leaves, Equator ecotypes and hybrids had almost the same size (19.79 and 17.73 cm for Equator ecotypes and 19.0 and 17.23 cm for hybrids). The physical fruit properties of the hybrid showed dominance in comparison with the best parent due to heterosis effect. The hybrids showed a positive heterosis in fruit length, with significant H (30.17%) and Hb (3.47%) values. For the qualitative data, hybrids had the same leaf and petiole color as the Senegal ecotype, but the same leaf size with the Equator ecotype. The introduction of genetic variability can be performed by intraspecific cross. Key words: Benin, ecotype, Jatropha curcas, heterosis, hybrids.

the field study, gathered the data and performed preliminary data analysis. the study, ABSTRACT Aim : Corchorus olitorius is indubitably one of the most important vegetables in Benin. It is grown in most regions of the country and also in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Therefore, the aim was to determine the phenotypic diversity of different cultivars of C. olitorius in Benin Study Design: A randomized complete block design was used. Methodology: Forty seed samples of C. olitorius were collected during a survey carried out in twenty-one (21) municipalities of Benin. These seeds were sown at Savè in the center of Benin. Twelve (12) quantitative traits and eleven (11) qualitative traits were recorded. Results: The results of principal component analysis and hierarchical ascending classification applied to quantitative variables showed six (06) classes of cultivars namely: C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6. The discriminating characteristics highlighted were: plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, leaf length, leaf width, fruit length, fruit diameter, flowering ARRB, 7(4): date, the number of days between two successive cuts and fresh leaf weight. For cultivars of classes C5 and C4, the number of days between two successive cuts was the shortest and their cycle was the longest. Fresh leaf weight and fruit number per plant were higher. As for the qualitative characters studied, only four cultivars showed variability. Three (03) leaf types were identified: lobed type, lanceolate type and simple indented type. Conclusion: There is a great variability within Benin cultivars. Cultivars from southern Benin were more diverse than those in the north. Cultivars of the classes C5 and C4 showed the best performance (important number of leaves and branches, high yield and a big size). These two classes are of great importance to vegetable farmers and breeders. Cultivars of classes C1 and C3 are of less importance.

A total of 70 accessions/ecotypes including 50 accessions from the sesame core collection of China and 7 collected in Benin (West Africa) were evaluated for 22 morphological traits, at Zhejiang University, Huajiachi campus, Hangzhou (China). Multivariate and principal component analyses revealed considerable genetic diversity in the material and led to their grouping into 8 clusters. The first two principal components explained 45.2% of the variation. There was no strong relationship between geographic origin and genetic diversity. Seed exchange over short distances and influence of microenvironments may have taken place. Nonetheless, using morphological markers it was possible to group 2 accessions (INRAB-S42 and INRAB-38-1-7) from Benin in cluster Ⅲ, the 6 accessions from Hangzhou (Zhejiang) in cluser Ⅷ; cluster V was formed by accessions from North-East and North-West of China.