Physiological response and productivity of safflower lines under water deficit and rehydration.

Fernanda P.A.P Bortolheiro,Marcelo A Silva

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201720170475

Fernanda P.A.P Bortolheiro, Marcelo A Silva

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201720170475

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Abstract

Water deficit is one of the major stresses affecting plant growth and productivity worldwide. Plants induce various morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes to adapt to the changing environment. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), a potential oil producer, is highly adaptable to various environmental conditions, such as lack of rainfall and temperatures. The objective of this work was to study the physiological and production characteristics of six safflower lines in response to water deficit followed by rehydration. The experiment was conducted in a protected environment and consisted of 30 days of water deficit followed by 18 days of rehydration. A differential response in terms of photosynthetic pigments, electrolyte leakage, water potential, relative water content, grain yield, oil content, oil yield and water use efficiency was observed in the six lines under water stress. Lines IMA 04, IMA 10, IMA 14 showed physiological characteristics of drought tolerance, with IMA 14 and IMA 16 being the most productive after water deficit. IMA 02 and IMA 21 lines displayed intermediate characteristics of drought tolerance. It was concluded that the lines responded differently to water deficit stress, showing considerable genetic variation and influence to the environment.

Highlights

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops
It should be noted that the plants in the rehydration treatment did not fully recover after rehydration, being positioned between the values of the traits under irrigation and under water deficit (Fig. 1)
The most significant variables, in descending order in PC 1, were total chlorophyll content, chlorophyll a content, carotenoids, chlorophyll b content, water potential and electrolyte leakage (Table I). These traits were highlighted in the differentiation of lines during water deficit followed by rehydration

Summary

Introduction

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops. It is an oilseed crop, from the Asteraceae family, not very popular compared to other oil crops such as soybean, sunflower and peanut because it is not widely cultivated around the world (Canavar et al 2014).The areas with safflower production are generally without irrigation, in arid and semiaridSafflower cultivation has expanded in the Asian, European and American continents, due to it’s ability to overcame environment stresses, as well as to the recognition of its numerous utilities, such as, a source of good quality oil, high value for industrial and food purposes and for ornamental use (Sehgal et al 2009). Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops. It is an oilseed crop, from the Asteraceae family, not very popular compared to other oil crops such as soybean, sunflower and peanut because it is not widely cultivated around the world (Canavar et al 2014). Asia is the largest producing region in the world, accounting for 51.5% of production, with a harvested area of 574 thousand ha, followed by the Americas with 35.6% and 281 thousand ha. According to Faostat (2014), the world production of safflower oil was 106 thousand tons, and the main producing region is Americas, responsible for 58% of production, followed by Asia, with 40.2%

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