GENOTYPE-BY-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION FOR SEED YIELD AND OIL CONTENT OF SAFFLOWER (Carthamus tinctorius L.) GENOTYPES

This research was carried out to determine genotype-by-environment interaction of safflower genotypes tested from 2014 to 2017. Konya, where the research was carried out, is the location with the most irregular and the lowest precipitation in Turkey. In this research, the variance analysis over years and genotypes showed that the main effects on genotypes made by year and genotype-by-year interaction were statistically significant (p<0.01) for all characteristics examined. The climatic conditions, especially the amount and distribution of precipitation, over the years allowed genotypes to perform substantially differently in seed yield and oil content of safflower genotypes. The biplot analysis provided significant advantages in identifying the promising genotypes. The genotypes showed similar patterns of performance across the years, while the amount and distribution of precipitation showed similar patterns. The experimental results revealed that the desired genotypes in terms of both stability and high yield, such as Gokturk, G7, and Dincer, G5 and G9 and oil content, such as Gokturk, Balci, and Linas, existed. In comparison to oil content, seed yield was more sensitive to environmental factors.