Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an annual oilseed plant, adapted to drought conditions, cultivated for its oil-rich seeds and used in the food, pharmaceutical and textile industries. Throughout history, this crop has been appreciated for the extraction of natural dyes, and today it is valued due to its high content of unsaturated fatty acids, as well as for its resistance to difficult climatic conditions. In this paper, the influence of the sowing season and the distance between the rows on the chemical composition of safflower seeds, cultivated in the pedoclimatic conditions of the Timisoara area, was analyzed. Parameters such as the content of mineral substances, crude protein, total fat and saturated fatty acids were monitored, in the context of agricultural years with above-average temperatures and uneven distribution of rainfall. The results highlighted that the sowing season is an essential agronomic factor for maximizing production and improving seed quality. Sowing in Epoch I favored a better vegetative development, leading to significant increases in production compared to Epoch II. Also, a longer row spacing (50 cm) had a positive impact on production, leading to an average increase of about +26% compared to the 30 cm spacing. The chemical composition of the seeds was also influenced by these agronomic factors. It has been found that both the sowing time and the distance between rows significantly influence the fat content and the proportion of saturated fatty acids. These data underline the importance of choosing the right cultivation technology to achieve higher quantitative and qualitative safflower production, especially in the context of current climate change.

sowing time, row spacing, chemical composition of seeds

agronomy

Presentation: poster