1 International Journal of Bioinformatics and Biological Sciences ¦ Volume 8 ¦ Issues 2 ¦ December 2020 INTRODUCTION Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) or “Til” is a member of the family Pedaliaceae, one of the world’s oldest spice and oilseed crops. It was originated in Africa and is considered to be one of the primeval oil seed plants brought into cultivation in various parts of the world (FAO, 2004). The major sesame cultivated areas are greater Faridpur, Barisal, Rangamati, Dinajpur, Pabna, Khulna, Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Comilla (Rahman, 1976). It occupies 96,000 ha of land and produces 49,000 tons of sesame (FAO, 2012). It can be cultivated both in kharif and rabi seasons. The main reason behind this lower yield is lack of high-yielding variety and poor management practices. The scarcity of edible oil both from plant and animal sources is an acute problem in Bangladesh and the same is increasing day by day (Talukdar, 1974, Fakir, 1980, and Bakr et al., 2007 and 2009). In 2012, the sesame cultivating area was 33.20 thousand hectares and production was 30 thousand tons (BBS, 2012). More precisely, the area under sesame cultivation was 90.82 thousand hectares in 1989, whereas it decreased to 35.67 thousand hectares in 2012 (Khaleque and Begum, 1991). Sesame seeds are small, almost oval in shape and have a mild and delicious aroma and taste (Hansen, 2011) The chemical composition of sesame shows that the seed is an important source of oil (44–58%), protein (18–25%), carbohydrate (13.5%), and ash (5%). Sesame seed is approximately 50% oil (out of which 35% is monounsaturated fatty acids and 44% polyunsaturated fatty acids) and 45% meal (out of which 20% is protein). Recently, sesame has been assessed on high nutritional and anti-aging feature with high quality of vegetable oil. Its oil is highly resistant to oxidative deterioration by containing antioxidant lignin such as sesamin and sesamolin (El Khier, 2008 and Ghandi, 2009). In Sicily and France, the seeds are eaten on bread (fcelle sesame, sesame thread). In Greece, the seeds are also used in cakes. Fast-food restaurants use buns with tops sprinkled with sesame seeds. About 75% of Mexico’s sesame crop is purchased by McDonald’s for use in their sesame seed buns worldwide (Reuters, 1992). Seed-borne diseases are most disastrous and they reduce seed vigor, market value, and weaken the plant at the initial stages of its growth. The health of sesame plant is affected by fungi by causing infections on roots, foliage, and seeds (Shamsi and Hosen, 2016, Hosen and Shamsi, 2018a, and Shamsi, ABSTRACT An investigation was carried out during the tenure of March–September 2014 in search of fungal diseases of sesame. Seeds of two varieties, namely, BARI Til 2 and local variety Assima were collected from Satkhira and Jamalpur districts. Seeds were sown at the experimental feld plot of Botanic garden, Department of Botany, University of Dhaka. Tree types of symptoms, namely, stem rot, leaf spot, and fruit rot were recorded on sesame before fowering up to harvesting. Aspergillus favus, Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium sp., Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Botryodiplodia theobromae), Corynespora cassiicola, Curvularia lunata, Penicillium sp., and Sclerotium rolfsii were isolated from plant parts on PDA medium following tissue planting method at temperature 25–28°C and pH 6.0. Five fungicides, viz. Homai (Carbendazim), CM-75 (Carbendazim + Mancozeb), Ridomil Gold (Mancozeb + Matalexil), Score (Difenoconazole), and Tilt 250 EC (Propiconazole) at 50, 100, and 200 ppm concentration were used to control test pathogen S. rolfsii in vitro. Tilt 250 EC found most efective and completely inhibited the radial growth of test pathogen at all the concentrations used. Keywords: Causal agent, Management, Sclerotium rolfsii, Sesame indicum, Stem rot *Corresponding author: Shamim Shamsi, Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com In vitro management of Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. – Te causal agent of stem rot of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Shamim Shamsi 1 , Najmun Naher 2 1 Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2 Department of Botany, Life and Earth Science Group, National University, Gazipur, Bangladesh Original Research article DOI: 10.30954/2319-5169.2.2020.1 Submission: 15-06-2020 Acceptence: 19-09-2020 Received: 25-06-2020 Published: 20-12-2020