Welcome to SESACO.net

Sesaco is an acronym for Sesame Coordinators. Established in 1978, the company has worked in all phases of commercialization of sesame to include plant research, variety development, planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, receiving, cleaning, exporting, importing, processing, product development, and bulk sales.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L. Pedaliaceae) is one of the oldest crops known to humans. There are archeological remnants dating to 5,500 years ago in the Indian subcontinent. Assyrian tablets from 4,300 years ago describe how before the gods battled to restore order to the universe, they ate bread and drank sesame wine together. Most people remember the words "Open sesame" from Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves used to open a cave full of riches. This is similar to the sesame capsules in that their opening produced great riches. Sesame was a major oilseed in the ancient world because of its ease of extraction, its great stability, and its drought resistance.

In China, Japan, and Korea grandmothers advise, "Eat sesame for health." In recent years the Japanese have been identifying and quantifying the medicinal benefits of sesame. In vitro and animal studies have verified several antioxidant properties, and initial unpublished results in human studies further verify that stories passed down through generations have merit. Sesame has about 50% oil and 25% protein. The oil is one of the most stable vegetable oils because of the high level of antioxidants (sesamin, sesamolin, and sesamol). The flour that remains after oil extraction is almost 50% protein, has good effective carbohydrates, and contains water-soluble antioxidants (sesaminol glucosides) that provide added shelf-life to many products.

About 99% of the sesame in the world is harvested manually because of shattering when the plants dry down. Through conventional plant breeding (non-GMO), Sesaco developed non-dehiscent sesame (U.S. Patent No. 6,100,452). On Sesaco sesame varieties, the capsules open at the tip while drying down, but through various genetic traits the capsules retain the seed until harvest. The seed can be combined with minimal damage. Sesaco sesame varieties are fully mechanized. For a graphic comparison of the two harvest methods view the following: traditional sesame at harvest and fully mechanized sesame at harvest.

Sesaco has been contracting with farmers to grow sesame in Arizona since 1978, and in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas since 1987. Sesame is very drought tolerant and can withstand high heat, but as with all crops, sesame will have higher yields under irrigation. Sesame has proven to be an excellent alternative crop and a catch crop for failed out crops, e.g., hail destruction of cotton or freeze or insect damage to wheat. By using sesame as a rotation, the soils are improved, and the sesame provides integrated crop management by suppressing cotton root rot and root knot nematodes. Following sesame, farmers have reported yield increases in cotton, peanuts, wheat, alfalfa, sorghum, and corn. Sesame is a deer resistant plant because the deer do not like the sesame leaves. Hogs do not eat the sesame, but may bed down within the field.