Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding, 9(4): 1529-1537 (Dec 2018) ISSN 0975-928X 1529 DOI: 10.5958/0975-928X.2018.00189.8 Research Article Genetic variability studies for yield and yield components in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) S. Kiruthika 1 , S. Lakshmi Narayanan 2 , C. Parameswari 1 , M. L. Mini 3 and P. Arunachalam 1 1 Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, AC & RI, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India 2 National Pulse Research Centre, Vamban, Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, India 3 Department of Soil and Environment, AC & RI, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India E-Mail: kiruthika.selvi.s@gmail.com (Received: 05 Nov 2017; Revised: 28 Dec 2018; Accepted: 28 Dec 2018) Abstract Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the oldest oilseed crops and is widely cultivated in India and Worldwide. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the sesame genotypes using 18 traits to elucidate the information on the amount of variability on yield and with yield attributing traits. Based on the variability parameters such as ANOVA (Analysis of variance), Phenotypic and Genotypic Coefficient of Variations (PCV, GCV) the selected yield contributing traits were number of capsules per plant, capsule length, number of seeds per capsule, 1000 seed weight, oil content and single plant yield. Heritability studies revealed that all the traits except capsule width and single plant yield showed high heritability, indicating heritability was mostly due to additive gene action. Genetic advance as per cent of mean was high for all the traits except plant height, capsule width and single plant yield. Based on the study, heritability was mostly due to additive gene action. Selection for highly hertitable and high genetic advance as per cent of mean traits may be effective for the improvement of sesame. Key words PCV, GCV, Heritability, Genetic advance, Sesame Introduction Sesame, considered to be one of the oldest crops and is widely cultivated in Asia and Africa (Kurdistani and Tohidinejad, 2011). Sesame is grown in many parts of the World; Asia is rich in diversity of cultivated sesame while Africa is prosperous in wild relatives (Sharma et al., 2014). Sesame is the key source of edible oil and is widely used as one of the ingredients in food products especially in bakery foods and animal feed. Composition of sesame oil is quite unique as it contains both oil (57 to 63 per cent) and high amount of protein about 25.18 per cent (Alege and Mustapha, 2013). Amino acids like methionine and tryptophan are missing in many of vegetable protein and sesame is rich in these amino acids enhances the quality of the crop (Quasem et al., 2009). Sesame oil is known to be resistant to natural oxidation, attributed to anti-oxidation activity of sesame lignans (Fukuda et al., 1986). India occupies second position in area and production of oilseed crops in the World next to Myanmar. Yield is the most important trait for any crop improvement. Since, yield is a complex trait controlled by many genes, yield can be enhanced by improving the yield contributing traits. The success of any crop improvement program depends upon the nature and magnitude of genetic variability present in the crop. High level of polymorphism in sesame has been reported earlier regarding its morphology (Sarkar and Saha, 2014). The characterization and evaluation are the important pre-requisites for effective utilization of germplasm and also to identify sources of useful genes. An insight into the nature and magnitude of genetic variability present in the gene pool is of immense value for starting any systematic breeding programme because the presence of considerable genetic variability in the base material ensures better chances of evolving desirable plant type. Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to study the variability parameters among sesame genotypes to formulation of suitable selection indices for improvement in this crop. Material and Methods The experimental material consists of 53 genotypes from various geographical origins collected from