Sesame, a crop of semi arid zone is one of the World’s oldest oil crops and is being cultivated since ancient times in Asia and Africa. Sesame seed is used for direct consumption because of its sky-scraping nutritional value (50-60% oil and 16-25% protein). It is a source of excellent quality oil with very low rancidity and high antioxidant activity. Due to large remuneration of sesame seeds, flowers, roots and leaves the interest of scientists has been renewed in this ancient crop. Various parts of Sesamum indicum are constructive in handling of cancer, High blood pressure, constipation, diarrhea, dysentery, fungal infection, infant cholera and urinary infections. The knowledge of nature and magnitude of genetic variability is of immense value for planning efficient breeding program to look up the yield potential of the genotypes. Information on genetic diversity in sesame is limited. Some studies based on agro-morphological diversity have been carried out. A very few studies are based on RAPD and AFLP techniques based diversity evaluation. Generally these studies are focused on regional interests. In India, a little study has been carried out to determine the genetic divergence in Sesamum indicum L. To conquer this hole of knowledge in sesame, the present review encompasses overall evaluation and collection of data from different studies conducted to evaluate the genetic divergence in Sesamum indicum L.
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