06/30/08 Winter safflower for the northwest

Farm and Ranch June 30, 2008 Three new safflower germplasm lines have been developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists at Pullman, Washington. ARS agronomist R. C. Johnson says these lines are winter hardy varieties of the oilseed. Johnson: "I say more winter adapted because it is not as strong an adaptation as say winter wheat, but it still has a good level of winter adaptation. This is a new thing." Johnson says that winter hardiness could expand safflower use in the West and Southern Great Plains. He says winter varieties have higher yields than spring planted safflowers. They could also be beneficial as a rotation crop in areas of the Pacific Northwest. Johnson: "Especially in drier areas where there aren't as many different kinds of crops that do well, it is very advantageous to have a broadleaf in the rotation system so that you can do a better job of fighting grass weeds." Johnson says safflower can also improve water-use efficiency but there are questions about the impact of its water use on the following crop. Safflower is primarily grown for three products, oil, meal, and birdseed. Johnson says researchers still need to determine in which areas of the Pacific Northwest these winter safflower lines would survive the best. Then he says there needs to be work on improving the quality of the oil and increasing the oil content of the seed. Johnson is handling seed requests for the winter hardy safflower lines WSRC 01, WSRC 02 and WSRC 03 I'm Bob Hoff and that is the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.