Effect of boron foliar application and irrigation withholding on yield and yield components of safflower.

摘要

In order to study the effect of irrigation withholding at flowering and seed setting stage and boron foliar application on quantitative and qualitative traits of safflower, a field experiment in randomized complete block design arranged in split plot with three replications was conducted in 2010. Irrigation withholding was comprised of water stress at two stages (flowering and seed setting) as main plot and three concentrations of boron (0, 0.5 and 1%) were considered as sub-plots. Results showed that exertion of water stress at flowering and seed setting stage decreased seed yield of safflower significantly. In addition, plant growth indexes and harvest index were affected by water stress negatively. Use of foliar boron increased seed yield under water stress; on the other hand, use of boron foliar application had the highest positive effect on plant height, branch number, seed number, biological yield and harvest index. In general, application of boron under conditions of late season drought stress is recommended to safflower seed production.