LAKE CITY, Ark. (AP) — Sesame is gaining a foothold in parts of the southeast United States, where cotton has long been king, as farmers take advantage of its drought tolerance and a recently developed trait that lets them bring it in with typical ag equipment.

Thousands of acres from Arkansas to Florida and Georgia were planted in sesame this year — sometimes joining a rotation of cotton, soybeans and corn and at times spread in fields too far away from irrigation lines.