Functional and physiological responses of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars to growth regulator application under the agro-climatic conditions of Kut, Iraq

Functional and physiological responses of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars to growth regulator application under the agro-climatic conditions of Kut, Iraq | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Functional and physiological responses of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars to growth regulator application under the agro-climatic conditions of Kut, Iraq Hassan Khaled Monadi, Ehsan ZeidAli, Ali Hatami This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9310653/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract An experiment was conducted in the Kut region of Iraq during the 2025 growing season to evaluate the interaction effects of genotype and growth regulators on morphological traits, yield, and seed quality of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Four cultivars (‘Al-Safaa’, ‘Al-Furat’, ‘Al-Karama’, and ‘Al-Raqqa’) were tested under three treatments: humic acid, gibberellic acid (GA₃), and a distilled water control, using a factorial arrangement with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed that both cultivar and growth regulator significantly affected most measured traits (p ≤ 0.01), with a significant interaction effect for key yield components and seed yield. The highest seed yield (605 kg ha⁻¹) was obtained from the ‘Al-Safaa’ cultivar treated with humic acid, representing a 16% increase compared to its control (520.67 kg ha⁻¹). Significant differences were also observed in seed oil content among cultivars, with ‘Al-Karama’ exhibiting the highest value (26.31%) and ‘Al-Furat’ the lowest (24.73%). Growth regulator application led to a moderate increase in oil content, with GA₃ producing the highest average (25.96%). Notably, the combination of ‘Al-Furat’ and GA₃ resulted in the highest harvest index (36.16%), indicating more efficient assimilate partitioning toward seed production. Overall, the results demonstrate that sesame productivity and quality are strongly influenced by genotype × growth regulator interactions. The combination of ‘Al-Safaa’ and humic acid is identified as the most effective strategy for maximizing yield and oil content under arid conditions. humic acid gibberellic acid Sesame genotype × environment interaction seed yield oil content Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 04 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 25 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 18 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 11 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9310653","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":633454723,"identity":"c396bb84-87e2-4308-9b0d-bcd6743b4784","order_by":0,"name":"Hassan Khaled Monadi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ilam University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hassan","middleName":"Khaled","lastName":"Monadi","suffix":""},{"id":633454724,"identity":"0173cc9e-58a1-45e7-92d8-f6ead7619740","order_by":1,"name":"Ehsan ZeidAli","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIie3QsWoCMRzH8V8IxCV6a45afYVzt/VVLtza2aWDfxEuk7jeYzhlzhGom8/g4VzQzQ4Fj7pZuFMnh3y3f+DD/0+AUOhZSwX6ojOfu8vI6CYihSzpDoKaQKVwN90UoVPtdtN32Yv35H4+MIyI54cmEhOyJN1mUrxoKpcWo8KxRdFEEocvpXP+R1zXgq3BFo2HTRwzJ53PpIhLKn8tJq0kARfQuZdCMfL1Ft1KlBdcpdtN/cma/KtVWeFbSGRMdTxNPwdDs6mqbzt+WxmzbyTgV1v/vYRCoVDogc4ctEMC4woVogAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Ilam University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ehsan","middleName":"","lastName":"ZeidAli","suffix":""},{"id":633454725,"identity":"de726809-a67a-4799-b3d0-98e030e24a48","order_by":2,"name":"Ali Hatami","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ilam University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ali","middleName":"","lastName":"Hatami","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-03 08:25:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9310653/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9310653/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108493636,"identity":"755c0373-4c7e-4ccd-bf64-3fcb807d1c0b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 10:01:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":446090,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"hassankhaledpaper.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9310653/v1_covered_6d2dc99e-1a25-424b-a770-1975c4bd9de2.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Functional and physiological responses of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars to growth regulator application under the agro-climatic conditions of Kut, Iraq","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-plants","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Plants](https://link.springer.com/journal/44372)","snPcode":"44372","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44372/3","title":"Discover Plants","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"humic acid, gibberellic acid, Sesame, genotype × environment interaction, seed yield, oil content","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9310653/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9310653/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAn experiment was conducted in the Kut region of Iraq during the 2025 growing season to evaluate the interaction effects of genotype and growth regulators on morphological traits, yield, and seed quality of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Four cultivars (\u0026lsquo;Al-Safaa\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;Al-Furat\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;Al-Karama\u0026rsquo;, and \u0026lsquo;Al-Raqqa\u0026rsquo;) were tested under three treatments: humic acid, gibberellic acid (GA₃), and a distilled water control, using a factorial arrangement with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed that both cultivar and growth regulator significantly affected most measured traits (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.01), with a significant interaction effect for key yield components and seed yield. The highest seed yield (605 kg ha⁻\u0026sup1;) was obtained from the \u0026lsquo;Al-Safaa\u0026rsquo; cultivar treated with humic acid, representing a 16% increase compared to its control (520.67 kg ha⁻\u0026sup1;). Significant differences were also observed in seed oil content among cultivars, with \u0026lsquo;Al-Karama\u0026rsquo; exhibiting the highest value (26.31%) and \u0026lsquo;Al-Furat\u0026rsquo; the lowest (24.73%). Growth regulator application led to a moderate increase in oil content, with GA₃ producing the highest average (25.96%). Notably, the combination of \u0026lsquo;Al-Furat\u0026rsquo; and GA₃ resulted in the highest harvest index (36.16%), indicating more efficient assimilate partitioning toward seed production. Overall, the results demonstrate that sesame productivity and quality are strongly influenced by genotype \u0026times; growth regulator interactions. The combination of \u0026lsquo;Al-Safaa\u0026rsquo; and humic acid is identified as the most effective strategy for maximizing yield and oil content under arid conditions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Functional and physiological responses of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars to growth regulator application under the agro-climatic conditions of Kut, Iraq","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-04 22:56:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9310653/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-04T14:31:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T11:46:33+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"57592481066780785922428036959740940879","date":"2026-04-29T08:18:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-25T11:39:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"156636717526562608980713029305682259731","date":"2026-04-25T09:35:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"132962326933221731135591561984221702351","date":"2026-04-23T12:39:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-22T20:17:45+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T12:25:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-18T05:06:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-14T01:29:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Plants","date":"2026-04-11T07:33:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-plants","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Plants](https://link.springer.com/journal/44372)","snPcode":"44372","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44372/3","title":"Discover Plants","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b6aa2431-70ec-4542-ae4b-84945ed1bf3e","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 4th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-04T14:31:32+00:00","index":29,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T11:46:33+00:00","index":28,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"57592481066780785922428036959740940879","date":"2026-04-29T08:18:15+00:00","index":27,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-04T22:56:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-04 22:56:42","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9310653","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9310653","identity":"rs-9310653","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}