The results of long-term studies of the biological, morphological and phenological features of the introduced new culture of safflower in the Central, Volga and North Caucasus regions are presented. Optimum parameters of depth of seeding (5-6 cm), seeding rates (300-350 thousand pieces/hectare or 12-14 kg), ensuring high productivity, oil content and quality of seeds are established. For the first time, the relationship between moisture availability of vegetation periods with accumulation of oil content and a change in the fatty acid composition was established. Oilseed (in untreated seeds) in the regions was from 14,5 to 31,2%, in excessively wet 2013 – 6,4% in the Moscow region and 8,6% in the Saratov region. Fatty acid composition revealed a high content of oleic acid in Krasa Stupinskaya variety – 13,6-16,8%, linoleic acid – 68,5-75,7%. The yield of oil in the Moscow region was 240 kg/ha. The yield of Krasa Stupinskaya in the Moscow Region was 0,6 t/ha, the Rostov Region 0,8 t/ha and Saratov Region 1,2 t/ha, with an average weight of 1000 seeds, respectively, by regions: 40,0 g, 47,3 g and 40,9 g. The growing season for growing seeds was 105 days in the Moscow Region, 94 days in the Rostov Region and 95 days in the Saratov Region. It has been established that excessive moistening during the flowering and seed filling period increases the harmfulness of enzyme-mycosis seed depletion (EMIS) – biological injury during maturation (enzymatic stage), followed by the seeding of the seeds with the phytopathogen Alternaria carthami Chowdhury. In the breeding programs for productivity and oil content, it is recommended to use the varieties Moldir (Kazakhstan) and Krasa Stupinskaya (FGBNU VSTISP), the fatty acid composition of which is characterized by an increased content of oleic and linoleic acid, which is of particular value for storage and use for food purposes.
Genotype and plant density effects on oil content and fatty acid composition of safflower