Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) is an oilseed crop that is valued as a source of high quality vegetable oil. The genetic diversity of 16 safflower genotypes originated from different geographical regions of Iran and some with exotic origin were evaluated. Eight different seed quality-related traits including fatty acid composition of seed oil (stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid), the contents of, oil, protein, fiber and ash in its seeds, as well as 20 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphic primers were used in this study. Analysis of variance showed significant variation in genotypes for the seed quality-related traits. Based on ISSR markers, a total of 204 bands were amplified and 149 bands (about 70%) of these were polymorphic. Cluster analysis based on either biochemical or molecular markers classified the genotypes into four groups, showing some similarities between molecular and biochemical markers for evaluated genotypes. A logical similarity between the genotype clusters based on molecular data with their geographical origins was observed.

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Electrospinning is a well‐known technique for producing nanofibers using synthetic and natural polymers like mucilage. In this study, Plantago major Mucilage (PMM) was blended with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a nontoxic adding agent, in order to produce electrospun nanofiber. Electrospinning parameters (voltage, tip‐to‐collector distance, feed rate, and PMM/PVA ratio) were optimized and solution properties were analyzed. The morphology of nanofibers was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). Mechanical strength of nanofibers was determined, and cell viability on nanofibers was discussed by MTT assay. The results of SEM indicated that the PMM/PVA (50/50) nanofibers obtained with average diameter of 250 nm. Viscosity, electrical conductivity, and surface tension of PMM/PVA solution were 550 Cp, 575 μS/cm, and 47.044 mN/m, respectively. FTIR and XRD results verified the exiting PMM in produced nanofibers and no chemical reaction between PMM and PVA. Improvement in mechanical strength and cell viability of nanofibers by adding PMM to PVA nanofibers indicated the potential application of PMM‐based nanofibers for medical and food industries. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47852.

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Genetics of agronomic traits in safflower was determined using 6×6 full diallel population. Data were recorded on days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, primary branches per plant, head diameter, number of heads per plant, number of seeds per head, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant. Variance components showed that days to maturity and heads per plant were largely controlled by dominance gene effects, whereas 1000-seed weight, plant height and seeds per head were governed by additive type of gene action. The results also revealed both additive and non-additive types of gene actions for remaining traits. The significant mean squares of reciprocal crosses for days to flowering, head diameter, number of seeds per head, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant suggested that maternal inheritance also played an important role in the inheritance of these traits. Significant general combining ability for yield revealed that genetic improvement through accumulation of desirable alleles from parents in the target genotype using appropriate selection methods would be desirable in safflower.