The effects of water stress and plant density on vegetative and reproductive characteristics of safflower in the semi-arid region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbbiol.2024.2.05Keywords:
Carthamus tinctorius L., chlorophyll, deficit-irrigation, field capacity, phenologyAbstract
The limited availability of water for irrigation in semi-arid areas necessitates the use of deficit irrigation techniques. Deficit irrigation is an irrigation practice whereby water supply is reduced below maximum levels and a mild water-deficit stress affects the crop yield. Current field experiment was aimed to investigate different densities of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) (33, 40, 50, 66 plants m2 abbreviated as P33, P40, P50, and P66, respectively) under different soil moisture content (irrigation up to 100%, 70%, and 50% field capacity showed as FC100, FC70, and FC50, respectively) on the growth characteristics of safflower in a semi-arid region in the northwest of Iran. The number of days to maturity decreased significantly under deficit irrigation (FC70 and FC50). The longest growth period was recorded for plants growing under P66-FC100 conditions which was 7% higher than P50-FC100. The decrease in plant density caused an increase in chlorophyll content and this trend was more evident under Fc100. Increasing the density under FC100 conditions increased the plant height. However, this trend was not observed under deficit irrigation conditions. Decreasing the plant density per unit area induced lateral growth, and increased the number of capitula per plant, the weight of capitulum, the number of achenes per capitulum and the 1000-achenes weight. This trend was more prominent under FC100 conditions. Mild deficit-irrigation (irrigation up to FC70) resulted approximately 20% reduction in achene yield. Thus, water management is very important to certify a conservational water supply in semi-arid regions. Irrigation up to FC70 under the studied area is a reasonable and good management method to save irrigation water.
Article history: Received 11 May 2024; Revised 03 November 2024;
Accepted 12 November 2024; Available online 10 December 2024
References
Abd El-Lattief, E.A. (2013). Safflower yields and water use efficiency as affected by irrigation at different soil moisture depletion levels and plant population density under arid conditions. Arch. Agron. Soil Sci., 59(11), 1545-1557. https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2012.735769
Abou Chehade, L., Angelini, L.G. & Tavarini, S. (2022). Genotype and seasonal variation affect yield and oil quality of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) under Mediterranean conditions. Agronomy, 12(1), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010122
Calıskan, S. & Calıskan, M.E. (2018). Row and plant spacing effects on the yield and yield components of safflower in a mediterranean-type environment. Turk J Field Crops, 23(2), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.17557/tjfc.467442
Chen, J., Wang, Y., Zhi, X., Qiu, Y., Han, Y., Feng, L., Wang, Z., Li, X., Lei, Y., Xiong, S. & Wang, G (2022). Modifying the planting density to change water utilization in various soil layers and regulate plant growth and yield formation of cotton. Field Crops Res., 289, 108738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2022.108738
de Almeida Silva, M., Santos, H. L., de Sousa Ferreira, L., Silva, D. M. R., dos Santos, J.C.C. & de Almeida Prado Bortolheiro, F. P. (2023). Physiological changes and yield components of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) lines as a function of water deficit and recovery in the flowering phase. Agriculture, 13(3), 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13030558
Ehsanzadeh, P. & Zareian Baghdad-Abadi, A. (2003). Yield, yield components and growth characteristics of two safflower genotypes under varying plant densities. J. Crop Prod. Proc., 7 (1):129-140
El-Beltagi, H.S., Basit, A., Mohamed, H.I., Ali, I., Ullah, S., Kamel, E.A., Shalaby, T.A., Ramadan, K.M., Alkhateeb, A.A. & Ghazzawy, H.S. (2022). Mulching as a sustainable water and soil saving practice in agriculture: A review. Agronomy, 12(8), 1881. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081881
Elfadl, E., Reinbrecht, C., Frick, C. & Claupein, W. (2009). Optimization of nitrogen rate and seed density for safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) production under low-input farming conditions in temperate climate. Field Crops Res., 114(1), 2-13.
Emongor, V. (2010). Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) the underutilized and neglected crop: a review. Asian J. Plant Sci., 9(6), 299-306. https://doi.org/10.3923/ajps.2010.299.306
Fasoula, V. A. & Tollenaar, M. (2005). The impact of plant population density on crop yield and response to selection in maize. Maydica, 50 (1), 39-48.
Fatthi, M., Janmohammadi, M. & Sabaghnia, N. (2024). The agronomic response of carthamus tinctorius to sulphur fertilizers. Agriculture and Forestry, 70 (1): 203-215. https://doi.org/10.17707/AgricultForest. 70.1.14
Flemmer, A.C., Franchini, M.C. & Lindström, L.I. (2015). Description of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) phenological growth stages according to the extended BBCH scale. Ann. Appl. Biol., 166(2), 331-339. https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12186
Hasanuzzaman, M.D., Shabala, L. Brodribb, T.J., Zhou, M. & Shabala, S. 2016. Assessing the suitability of various screening methods as a proxy for drought tolerance in barley. Funct. Plant Biol., 44(2): 253-266.
Janmohammadi, M. & Sabaghnia, N. (2023a). Strategies to alleviate the unusual effects of climate change on crop production: a thirsty and warm future, low crop quality. A review. Biologija, 69(2): 121-133. https://doi.org/10.6001/biologija.2023.69.2.1
Janmohammadi, M. & Sabaghnia, N. (2023b). Effects of foliar spray of nano-micronutrient and growth regulators on safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) performance. Plant Nano Biology, 5, 100045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plana.2023.100045
Janmohammadi, M., Amanzadeh, T., Sabaghnia, N. & Ion, V. (2016). Effect of nano-silicon foliar application on safflower growth under organic and inorganic fertilizer regimes. Bot. Lith., 22(1), 53-64. https://doi.org/10.1515/botlit-2016-0005
Hertel, K. (2016) Tactical agronomy of safflower and linseed: place in the rotation, yield potential, time of sowing, plant growth and marketing. https://grdc.com.au/Research-and-Development/GRDC-Update-Papers/2016/03/Tactical-agronomy-of-safflower-and-linseed
Kizil, S., Çakmak, Ö., Kirici, S. A. L. İ. H. A. & İnan, M. (2008). A comprehensive study on safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) in semi-arid conditions. Biotechnol. Biotechnol. Equip., 22(4), 947-953. https://doi.org/10.1080/13102818.2008.10817585
La Bella, S., Tuttolomondo, T., Lazzeri, L., Matteo, R., Leto, C. & Licata, M. (2019). An agronomic evaluation of new safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) germplasm for seed and oil yields under Mediterranean climate conditions. Agronomy, 9(8), 468. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9080468
Licata, M., Farruggia, D., Iacuzzi, N., Matteo, R., Tuttolomondo, T. & Di Miceli, G. (2023). Effects of genotype and climate on productive performance of high oleic Carthamus tinctorius L. under rainfed conditions in a semi-arid environment of Sicily (Italy). Plants, 12(9), 1733. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091733
Moatshe, O. G., Emongor, V. E., Balole, T. V. & Tshwenyane, S. O. (2020). Safflower genotype by plant density on yield and phenological characteristics. Afr. Crop Sci. J. 28(s1), 145-163. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/acsj.v28i1.11S
Özaşık, İ., Kaya, M. D. & Kulan, E. G. (2019). The optimum plant density for vigorous seed production in safflower. Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology, 7(2), 301-305. https://doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v7i2.301-305.2275
Pasandi, M., Janmohammadi, M. & Karimizadeh, R. 2014. Evaluation of genotypic response of Kabuli chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars to irrigation regimes in Northwest of Iran. Agriculture (Pol'nohospodárstvo), 60(1): 22-30. https://doi.org/10.2478/agri-2014-0003
Sefaoğlu, F. &, Özer H. (2022). Response of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) to Planting Rate and Row Spacing in a High Altitude Enviroment. Erciyes Tarım ve Hayvan Bilimleri Dergisi, 5(1), 1-10. 10.55257/ethabd.1090609
Steberl, K., Boote, K. J., Munz, S. & Graeff-Hönninger, S. (2019). Modifying the CROPGRO safflower model to simulate growth, seed and floret yield under field conditions in Southwestern Germany. Agronomy, 10(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10010011
Zheng, B., Zhang, X., Wang, Q., Li, W., Huang, M., Zhou, Q. & Jiang, D. (2021). Increasing plant density improves grain yield, protein quality and nitrogen agronomic efficiency of soft wheat cultivars with reduced nitrogen rate. Field Crops Res., 267, 108145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2021.10814
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Biologia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
