Archives of Current Research International

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), known as the 'Queen of Oilseeds,' is a nutritionally and economically valuable crop widely cultivated across tropical and subtropical regions. Despite its significance, productivity remains constrained by poor seedling establishment, particularly under rainfed and marginal conditions. The present pot culture investigation was conducted during the Rabi season of 2026 at PGP College of Agricultural Sciences, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, to optimise organic growing media compositions for improving germination and early seedling growth of sesame (variety VRI-3). Eight treatments involving different combinations of soil, sand, farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost, cocopeat, and coir pith were evaluated in a Completely Randomised Design (CRD) with three replications. Key parameters assessed included germination percentage, root length, shoot length, seedling length, and Seed Vigour Index (SVI) at 20 and 25 days after sowing (DAS). Results demonstrated that the treatment T₇ (Soil + Cocopeat + Coir pith at 1:1:1) recorded the highest germination percentage (96%), maximum root length (14.2 cm at 20 DAS; 17.5 cm at 25 DAS), maximum shoot length (16.1 cm at 20 DAS; 19.3 cm at 25 DAS), and the highest SVI (3532.8). The treatment T₂ (Soil + Sand at 1:1) consistently recorded the lowest values across all parameters. The superior performance of T7 is attributed to the synergistic effect of cocopeat and coir pith in improving aeration, water retention, and root-zone conditions. These findings suggest that a combination of soil, cocopeat, and coir pith at a 1:1:1 ratio constitutes an optimal organic growing medium for achieving vigorous sesame seedling establishment.