Enhancing oleic acid and oil content in low oil and oleic type Indian safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Indian safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), an oilseed crop, is low in oleic acid (14-20%) and oil (26-32%) levels. An attempt was made to improve oleic acid and oil levels in Indian safflower considering the high global demand for oleic oils. A parent possessing low oil (30%) and high oleic acid (74%) contents was crossed to two parents having low levels of oil (28% and 30%) and oleic acid (18% and 14%) contents. Progenies possessing high oil and high oleic acid were selected in F3-F4, and the best were advanced to F6. Fifty eight high oil and high oleic F6 lines were tested for three years for oil and oleic acid levels and two years for seed yield under unirrigated conditions. Ten inbred lines possessing 36.11-41.01% oil and 77.01-82.56% oleic acid were finally shortlisted. One line, ISF1264 (Ole) gave seed yield (2480 kg/ha) comparable to the high yielding variety check, A1 (2460 kg/ha) with a 56% increase in oil yield (992 kg/ha) and 6.71 times increase in oleic acid yield (805 kg/ha) over A1 while the remaining nine lines could not compete with A1 for seed yield but gave 13-32% higher oil yield and 4.65-5.7 times higher oleic acid yield than A1. These lines would help in increasing safflower oil and oleic acid production in India, and make safflower cultivation more rewarding to farmers besides increasing the market value of Indian safflower oil once released as varieties for commercial cultivation.