Effect of water salinity on growth, quantitative and biochemical characteristics of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) in Ahvaz region

In order to evaluate the effect of water salinity on growth, quantitative and biochemical characteristics of safflower cultivars, a pot experiment was carried out with factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design with three replications. The factors included irrigation water salinity in in four levels of 0.4 (normal water as control condition), 4, 8, and 12 dS/m and different cultivars of safflower (Isfahan, Goldasht and Soffeh). The results showed that the difference among cultivars for root dry matter, shoot dry matter, chlorophyll a, b and total, number of heads per plant, number of seeds per head, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index was statistically significant. Also, with the increasing of salinity level, grain yield and other traits significantly decreased. The interaction between cultivar and salinity level was significant for all traits except for chlorophyll b. With increasing salinity levels, the yield of all three cultivars decreased, significantly. The maximum grain yield (31.4 g/pot) was obtained from Isfahan cultivar in 0.4 dS/m and the minimum value was 10 g/pot at 12 dS/m salinity in Soffeh cultivar. In addition, the maximum grain yield was belonged to Isfahan and Goldasht cultivars under increasing salinity stress, respectively. In general, the results showed that under the application of water salinity, Isfahan and Goldasht cultivars were better than other cultivars regarding yield and other traits and recommended to be cultivated by farmers.