Effect of plant density on oil yield of safflower

Abstract

The definition of the ideal plant population is important for good safflower agricultural management in Brazil, as they are gaining importance as oleaginous plant. Two experiments were conducted in an Rhodic Acrudox in 2014 in Cascavel, PR, Brazil, to evaluate the effect of plant density on growth, yield components and grain yield in safflower oil during autumn and winter seasons. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications and four plant densities per meter (5, 10, 15 and 20 m). Densities of 14 and 16 plants per meter gave greater heights of plants during autumn and winter, accordingly. Increasing densities reduce the number of branches and chapters in autumn, but increase in the productivity of grains and oil. The oil content was improved by cultivating plants in winter, since the population of safflower in winter is higher as compared to fall. In safflower sown in autumn, between 15 and 16 plants per meter was sufficient for maximum grain yield and oil. The oil yield was 15% higher in autumn (992 kg ha-1) as compared to winter (858 kg ha-1

Irrigation with municipal wastewater as a suitable solution for safflower cultivation in arid regions

“…According to the analysis of variance table, irrigation and fertilizer had significant effect at 1% probability level for seed oil yield (Table 9). Considering that oil yield is calculated by multiplying the oil percentage by grain yield (Sampaio et al, 2017) and because in this experiment the highest oil percentage and highest grain yield were obtained from irrigation treatment with municipal wastewater and combined fertilizer and chemical fertilizer use, therefore, the highest oil yield was obtained from the same treatment (Table 7).…”

Physiological and Sanitary Quality of Safflower Seeds Under Different Seed Treatments

“…According to MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply), in the year of 2012, the country imported the value of US$ 6.1 millions of "sunflower or safflower oils" (Brazil, 2013a), nevertheless, without percentage distinction among the species. In the 1990s, the safflower was introduced in the South region of the country as ornamental plant, in virtue of climate conditions, however, the great incidence of pathogens in all the productive cycle, had its cultivation reduced gradually (Santos and Silva, 2015;Sampaio et al, 2017). However, this species presents itself as an alternative of cultivation in the country, requiring economic-scientific investment for the increase of seed productivity, with phytosanitary quality.…”