Reproductive And Yield Related Variation Studies In Different Species Of Carthamus

Abstract

In India the genus Carthamus commonly called as Safflower is known by a number of vernacular names. The plant is a minor oil seed crop, and has many other beneficial aspects. In the present work various species of Carthamus were subjected to reproductive and yield related variation studies. Considerable variation was found in various characters studied amongst various species of the genus C. glaucus, C. lanatus, C. oxycantha, C. palaestinus and C. tinctorius. The mean number of heads per plant varied from 15-27 in different species. The fertile and sterile florets per flower varied from 38-57 and 7-10 respectively. The mean number of seed set per plant varied from 762 to 1412 amongst different species. The diameter of head varied from 2 to 3 cm.