Fruit dehiscence is a complex process that leads to seed dispersal and affects the completion of the reproduction cycle of many plant species. This process has a negative impact on crop yields at harvest, regardless of the harvesting method used, and when dehiscence is complete, mechanized harvesting becomes almost impossible. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity certainly play a crucial role, but structural factors and fruit anatomy also contribute significantly. The aim of this review was to summarize fruit dehiscence in general, including its causes, mechanisms, and genetic determinism. The intrinsic causes inherent in the fruit itself, which determine the type of dehiscence, and tissue desiccation as an extrinsic cause were reviewed. This literature review also provided an understanding that fruit dehiscence, its mechanisms, and its development are determined within the fruit and regulated by specific genes in the pericarp and the dehiscence zone.

140 sesame accessions (Sesamum indicum) collected in different regions of Niger were characterized through 16 agro-morphological characters. These characters showed a great diversity within this collection. However, no link has been highlighted between this diversity and the geographical isolation of the collected accessions. The principal component analysis (PCA) and the hierarchical classification on the principal components (HCPC) highlighted three agromorphological groups. The group 1 accessions are the earliest and with a low vegetative development but very productive. Those of group 2 have an average precociousness and a vegetative development but as productive as those of group 1. Group 3 is that of the late ones with a very important vegetative development but low yields. The early rain cessation in September, before the end of their cycle, certainly impacted their productivity. The most discriminating variables that describe the variability between the identified groups are the precocity characters (date of start of flowering, date of 50% flowering, date of start of flower buds and physiological maturity) and vegetation characters (number of branches on the main stem, number of nodes on the main stem and length of internodes). Some accessions, with good agronomic performance, have been identified to be multiplied and distributed directly to producers or to integrate future sesame selection programs in Niger.