Sesame （ Sesamum indicum L. ） is an important oilseed crop in tropical and sub - tropical areas, but recent seed shortages for consumption have occurred. To address this, study objectives were to characterize and classify sesame phenotypic traits; disease and drought resistance; and germplasm con-stituents （i. e. , oil, protein, and sesamin content） through accession classification using principle com-ponent analysis at the Oil Crops Research Institute （OCRI） , CAAS. This organization maintains a total of 5,426 sesame accessions, of which 5,218 originated from China （ representing 29 provinces, munici-palities, and autonomous regions, except for Ningxia, Qinghai, and Taiwan） , and 208 derived from 24 countries including Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and North America. A total of 110 randomly selected sesame accessions and cultivars were seeded at OCRI between May 20 and June 10, 2005 - 2006. All accessions produced 8 to 55 g of seed per plant. All tested sesame accessions were successfully grown at the Oil Crops Research Institute （OCRI）,CAAS. Accessions were classified into 4 discrete clusters. Variance analysis and principal component analysis revealed a high degree of variability among the accessions based on phenological, morphological, and reproductive traits. These traits can be used to effectively distinguish accessions and to improve breeding programs for high - yielding sesame cultivars.
