Evaluating the Contribution of Ionic and Agronomic Components toward Salinity Tolerance in Safflower

Abstract

Saffl ower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a versatile crop species that is well adapted to arid and semiarid conditions. Limited information is available on the response of saffl ower genotypes to salinity stress under fi eld conditions. Th e objective of this study was to investigate the eff ects of fi eld salinity on seed yield, yield components, and leaf ionic concentrations in diff erent saffl ower genotypes. A 2-yr fi eld experiment was conducted in normal (E1) and saline (E2) fi eld conditions using 64 saffl ower genotypes. Plant height, number of capitula per plant, number of seeds per capitulum, 1000-seed weight, seed yield, biological yield, and harvest index were determined in this study. Leaf concentrations of Na + and K + were also measured and the K + / Na + ratio calculated. Results indicated that under salinity all the traits signifi cantly decreased except tissue Na + content and harvest index. Linear regression and genotype-by-traits analyses revealed a strong inverse association between leaf Na + concentration and salinity tolerance. Results of stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that plant height, number of capitula per plant, biological yield, harvest index, and leaf Na + content were the strongest predictors of seed yield, collectively explaining 97% of the variation in seed yield under saline conditions. Th erefore, the only ionic predictor of salinity tolerance in the regression model, leaf Na + concentration, can be suggested as an eff ective indirect screening criterion for salinity tolerance in saffl ower. Th e mechanisms of Na + homoeostasis, including Na + -specifi c transport or K + /Na + co-transport, could also be explored using the most contrasting genotypes with respect to salinity stress.

Vigour/tolerance trade‐off in cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus) response to salinity stress is linked to leaf elemental composition

“…In contrast to safflower (Yeilaghi et al, 2015) and other longer duration sunflower experiments (Di Caterina, Giuliani, Rotunno, De Caro, & Flagella, 2007;Ceccoli et al, 2012;Shahbaz et al, 2011), we found no link between leaf Na and tolerance. A key difference in these other studies and our experiment is the duration of stress.…”

Association Mapping for Important Agronomic Traits in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Core Collection Using Microsatellite Markers

“…It is quantitatively inherited and a large number of QTLs associated with plant height have been reported in different crop systems (Wu et al, 2010 ; Morris et al, 2013 ; Zanke et al, 2014 ). In previous studies, safflower germplasm have revealed significant variations for plant height (Yeilaghi et al, 2015 ; Kumar et al, 2016 ). However, genetic loci influencing this trait have not yet been identified.…”

“…Safflower is also used for extraction of dyes, several medicinal applications and as a plant factory for production of pharmaceuticals (Dajue and Mündel, 1996 ; Flider, 2013 ; Carlsson et al, 2014 ; Zhou et al, 2014 ). Additionally, its ability to grow under low moisture and high salinity conditions would give it a competitive edge over other oilseed crops in arid zones (Kaya et al, 2011 ; Bahrami et al, 2014 ; Yeilaghi et al, 2015 ; Ebrahimi et al, 2016 ). Currently, safflower is cultivated in around 20 countries in a total area of 1,140,002 hectares and production of 948,516 tons (FAOSTAT) 1 .…”

An Agronomic Evaluation of New Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Germplasm for Seed and Oil Yields under Mediterranean Climate Conditions

“…Traditional safflower oil, rich in polyunsaturated linoleic acid is valued for human health reasons as the high linoleic content leads to significant reductions in blood cholesterol levels [15,16] although not suitable for prolonged frying due to low oxidative stability at high temperatures. On the contrary, oil which is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid shows high oxidative stability, which makes it suitable for food purposes and an alternative to olive oil in arid and semi-arid regions in the world [2,11,22,23]. Moreover, oleic acid is characterized by a high single point of unsaturation and this represents an attractive characteristic to industry due to the large range of potential chemical products.…”