Evaluation of Iranian and Foreign Safflower Germplasms under Normal and Drought Stress Conditions

This study was conducted to evaluate 100 safflower genotypes (Carthamus tinctorius L.) under two moisture stress environments (non-stress and drought stress) during 2012 using a simple lattice design. Results showed that drought stress significantly decreased some traits such as seed yield per plant (21. 2%)، number of heads per plant (18. 7%)، oil percent (1. 8%) and biological yield (15. 3%). Result also indicated that number of heads per plant is the main factor decreasing seed yield under drought stress. The highest genetic diversity was observed for seed yield and its components in both moisture conditions (non-stress and drought stress). The lowest heritability was belonged to biologic index (35%) and the highest was for plant height (89%). Between yield components the highest heritability were belonged to number of seed per head (87%) and 1000-seed weight (85%). According to cluster analysis based on 10 Euclidean distances all of the genotypes were categorized into three groups. Iranian genotypes were separated from other genotypes which largely consistent with the geographic origin. Results indicate some foreign genotypes are suitable for breeding of undesirable traits of Iranian genotypes such as late-maturity and tallness.