Effect of Different Sowing Time and Cultivars on Oil Content, Yield Attributes and Yield of Safflower

The present experiment was conducted at All India Coordinated Research Project on safflower, College of Agriculture, Indore, (M.P.) during rabi season 2015-16 to study the effect of date of sowing and cultivars on number of capitula plant-1, total seed weight, 100 seed weight, seed yield, biological yield, straw yield, harvest index, oil content and oil yield. The experiment was performed in split plot design using three sowing dates and three cultivars. The maximum capitula (31.26 plant-1) and total seed weight (25.11 g plant-1) were recorded with 1st November sown crop. The cultivar A-1 registered the highest 100 seed weight (5.42 g) which was significantly superior over cultivar NARI-6 and NARI-57. The highest seed yield (1565.42 kg ha-1), straw yield (7771 kg ha-1) and biological yield (9336.42 kg ha-1) were obtained under 1st November of sowing. The maximum oil content (35.36 %) was received with NARI-57 followed by NARI-6 and A-1. The highest oil yield (509.35 kg ha-1) was observed with 1st November sown crop. Based on the findings it is concluded that for obtaining maximum yield of safflower, use of A-1 cultivar and sowing done at 1st November is recommended.