Genotype and Seasonal Variation Affect Yield and Oil Quality of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) under Mediterranean Conditions

The adoption of climate-resilient and resource-use efficient crop species and varieties is a key adaptation action for farmers in the face of climate change. Safflower, an emerging oilseed crop, has been recognized for its high oil quality and its favorable agronomic traits such as drought and cold tolerance, making it particularly suitable to Mediterranean conditions. A 2-year field study was carried out to evaluate the effects of the genotype and growing season on the crop phenology, seed and oil production, macronutrient accumulation and partitioning, and fatty acid composition of spring-sown safflower grown under rainfed conditions. The experiment was conducted during the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons on an alluvial deep loam soil (Typic Xerofluvent) at the Centre for Agri-environmental Research "E. Avanzi" of the University of Pisa (Pisa, Central Italy). Higher seed yield and yield components (plant density, plant height, branching, number of capitula per plant and seeds per capitulum) were found in almost all genotypes when the seeds were sown in mid-March 2012 compared to in late April 2013. More favorable conditions in 2012, i.e., early sowing date, higher precipitation, and quite mild temperatures, led to a better seed and oil yield and greater aboveground biomass and nitrogen uptake, with the highest amounts being removed by straw. Greater seed yield was found to be associated with a greater plant height and a higher number of capitula per plant. Oil content was negatively affected by the higher temperatures and the lower amounts of precipitation that occurred during the 2012 growing season. Seasonal variation in fatty acid composition depended on the genotype. Lower precipitation and higher temperatures during 2013 favored oleic acid content in high linoleic acid genotypes and linoleic acid in medium to high oleic acid genotypes. Among the genotypes, the linoleic-type Sabina and the oleic-type Montola 2000 performed the best in both seasons. The results, besides identifying promising safflower genotypes for spring sowing in the Mediterranean region and for future breeding programs, pointed out the importance of early sowing to contrast unfavorable environmental conditions during seed-filling, thus ensuring higher yields.