Evaluation of safflower germplasm in rainfed condition in fall planting

To study the physiological and morphological characterstics of Iranian and Exotic safflower genotypes, an expriment was performed at Dry - land Agricultural Research Station, Sararood, Kermanshah. 268 genotypes were evaluated under rainfed condition in 2003-04 (fall planting). Quantitative and qualitative traits including flower colour, spine and apineless, days to start and completion of flowering , flowering period , days to maturity, grain filling period, plant height (cm), main and lateral head diameter (mm) , mean of head diameter per plant (mm), number of heads per plant , number of secondary branches per plant, number of seeds per head, thousand kernal weight (gr), Seed yield (gr/plot), oil content, and oil yield (gr/plot) were measured. The results revealed the exitance of genetic variability in studied germplasm. Mean and variation range were for flowering and grain filling period 11.15 and 7–16 days, 26.98 and 22.50–33.50 days, respectively. The results of factor analysis showed that in falling planting six factors determined 78.04 % of total variation. It this study, factors I , II , and V determined as phenologic and morphologic factor (46.05 % of variance total), factors III and IV as yield and its components factor (24.56 % of variance total), and factor VI as suitable qualitative factor (7.13 % of variance total). The correlation coefficients between seed oil percentage and seed yield were negatively significant that indicated high yield genotypes have low oil content. Based on Ward cluster method genotypes were classified into five groups. Genotypes that were superior for seed oil percentage, oil yield and yield components grouped in group No I. The earliest genotypes were in group No V. This two groups had high genetic distance and therefore be suggestable for crossing block programmes. Key Words: Safflower, Germplasm, Drought tolerance, Factor analysis, Cluster analysis