Germination and Seedling Growth of Safflower Cultivars under Water Stress Condition

An experiment was conducted as a split plot design (with three replications) to evaluate effect of water deficit on seed germination of safflower cultivars. The main plots comprised six cultivars viz. Dizaj Hossein Beig¡ Koshaksara¡ Aghkand¡ N05¡ 917405 and 51063 and the sub main plots comprised three levels of osmotic potentials of 0¡ -0.6¡ and -1.7 bar. Results showed that stress levels affected germination percentage¡ plumule and seedling length. In addition¡ safflower cultivars had different germination percentages. Applying stress at -1.7 bar decreased plumule and seedling and ridicule lengths. Base on ability in germination under water deficit condition Dizaj Hossein Beig¡ Koshaksara¡ Aghkand are the suitable cultivar to cultivate in the water deficit conditions.