$t1llltjwer. III W,omlll' fdjujj~l~rm~vir. by W. A. Riedl. February 1955 Bulletin 332. A Good Field of Safflower

Transcription

1 fdjujjlrmvir l $t1llltjwer W,mlll' by W. A. Riedl A Gd Field f Safflwer February 1955 Bulletin 332 ( W ym i n gag ric u It u r a I (E x per i:: e n t 5 tat in

2 Summary Safflwer can be successfully prduced n bth irrigated and dryland in Wyming where the grwing seasn is at least 120 days. On irrigated land, average yields f apprximately l500 punds f grain per acre can be btained frm the better adapted varieties; 600 t 800 punds n dryland. There is nw n readily available market fr safflwer prduced in Wyming. Hwever if the farmer culd get apprximately $5.00 per 100 punds f grain, safflwer wuld cmpete favrably with wheat at $2.00 per bushel. The best time t plant safflwer in Wyming is frm Apr il 15 t 30. Plant it in rws inches apart at the rate f 15 t 30 punds per acre n irrigated land and in slid planting r in rws 12 t 42 inches apart n dryland, at the rate f 20 t 30 punds per acre fr slid planting and 10 t 20 punds when planted in rws. The seed shuld be planted 1 t 11'2 inches deep. Slightly higher yields n dryland were btained frm rws spaced 42 inches apart than frm rws spaced 12 inches apart. Of the varieties which were tested fr three r mre years, N-6 was fund t be best adapted fr prductin n irrigated land, while variety N-lO was best adapted n the dry land. All safflwer varieties tested prduced a higher average yield f il per acre than Dakta flax, even thugh flax seed had the higher il cntent. Wyming Agricultural Experiment Statin H. M. Briggs, Directr Laramie -2-

3 Safflwer In Wyming By W. A. Riedl, Agrnmist SAFFLOWER-AN OILSEED ROP- is adapted t the western part f the Nrthern Great Plains in areas where there are at least 120 days f grwing seasn. Oil frm the seed is used in manufacturing quick-drying paints, varnishes, and enamels. A byprduct-sa lwer meal-is a gd prtein supplement fr fattening lambs and beef cattle. Yields f 1500 punds f grain per acre are pssible n irrigated land, and 600 t 800 punds n dryland. At $5 per 100 punds f grain the crp is equal t wheat bringing $2 per bushel. Grwth Habits Safflwer belngs t the cmpsite family. It is a carse, erect annual herb which usually grws 18 t 36 inches high. The varieties differ widely in spininess, varying frm nne t a great many spines. The varieties are naturally crss-pllinated, 5 t 30 percent. Insectsespecially bees-help transfer the pllen. There are 20 t 100 flrets in each flwer bud and each flret may bear ne seed. The seeds resemble sunflwer but are abut the size f barley. Gd-quality seed will weigh 37 t 48 punds per bushel. Safflwer may vlunteer, but cultivatin will cntrl such plants. Yu'll find the plant mre resistant t hail than any f the small grains. Shattering and ldging are nt serius. *The experimental wrk reprted here is a prject f the Department f Agrnmy in cperatin with the Department f Agricultural Substatins. Much credit is due t Superintendents Len H. Paules, Trringtn: Leland R. Landers, Gillelle; Oscar K. Barnes, Sheridan: and Thmas L. Birch, Archer, all f whm supervised the variety trials at their substatins. -3-

4 Prductin Practices Time and Depth f Planting Best time t plant safflwer in Wyming is between April 15 and April 30. Mid-May plantings can result in damage by early frst in fall. It's best t plant 1 t 1Y2 inches deep-never deeper than 2Y2 inches. Preparatin f Seedbed Safflwer did better n summer-fallwed dry land than where it fllwed a small-grain crp. In cmpetitin with weeds it is ahead f flax but desn't d as well as small grains. Where weeds are a prblem it may be necessary t duckft, disk, r rdweed the field just befre yu plant. Irrigated land requires preparatin like land t be planted t beans. Methd and Rate f Seeding On dryland yu can plant the crp slid as with small grains-r in rws 12 t 42 inches apart. In ther states, slid planting has given the best yield after summer fallw. In Wyming the authr btained slightly higher yields frm rws spaced 42 inches apart than frm rws spaced 12 inches apart. Rw planting' affrds the advantage f cultivatin if weeds get ut f hand. Rws 22 inches apart under irrigated cnditins gave satisfactry yields. With this spacing yu can cultivate the fields with the same equipment yu use fr sugar beets r beans. If yu plant slid n dryland, a gd rate is 20 t 30 punds f seed per acre. But in rws 12 t 42 inches apart, 10 t 20 punds is enugh. Fr irrigated land the recmmended rate is 15 t 30 punds f seed in rws 20 t 24 inches apart. Bean, beet, r grain drills will serve fr planting. ultivatin A few days after the plants are up yu can harrw the field withut much damage. As a rule, tw t three times is all the cultivating yu need t d t keep the weeds dwn between the rws. Irrigatin It takes tw t three irrigatins t prduce gd yields. If the grund is mist enugh t bring the plants up t bud stage, then apply the first watering sn after the flwer buds begin t frm. Later irrigatins shuld cme at abut 2-week intervals. August 20 is usually the latest beneficial date. Never verirrigate. -4-

5 Harvesting Safflwer lends itself t harvesting by direct-cmbine-and withut majr change. Yu may have t cut the cylinder speed t prevent seed cracking. T avid mst f the shattering, yu can swath the crp a few days befre it is ready fr cmbining; a pickup attachment n the cmbine then des the trick. As sn as 98 t 100 percent f the heads are dry and thresh easily by hand, the crp is ready fr harvest. Varieties Yu can tell varieties f safflwer apart by flwer clr, number and length f spines, degree f branching, grwth habit, leaf shape, head diameter, seed size and shape, and il cntent. Average seed ranges between 22 and 36 percent il, and the better varieties test at least 28 percent. Only the better varieties that figured in the Wyming trials (see fllwing pages) fr three r mre years are described here. N-6 has large, pen heads, hence shatters smewhat during harvest. It has medium t heavy spines and prduced the highest yields n irrigated land. N-8 is susceptible t rust and s is nt suitable fr prductin n irrigated land. It is nt druth-resistant and s is nt recmmended fr dry land either. -10 has light t heavy spines. It prduced the highest average il cntent f all the varieties tested fr three r mre years. And it yielded the mst il per acre at Trringtn. N-852 has medium t heavy spines and is nt pure fr flwer clr, having abut 5 percent range-clred flwers with the remainder yellw. It was secnd in yield at Trringtn and Sheridan, althugh its average yield fr all statins was belw N-6, N-8, and N-IO. Materials and Experimental Methds Wyming farmers have shwn cnsiderable interest in the prductin f safflwer as a cash crp and have asked fr infrmatin n the best varieties t grw and the kind f cultural practices t use. That's why trials with varieties and prductin methds were started a few years ag. Here we present the data and cnclusins btained frm these trials, which we cnducted at the Trringtn, Gillette, Sheridan, and Archer substatins fr three t five years. We btained the seed frm the ebraska Agricultural Experiment Statin and planted each variety in 4-rw plts, 15 feet lng and replicated 4 times in randmized blcks, using three rw spacings. On dry- -5-

6 land we planted the varieties in 12 and 42-inch rws while n irrigated land; at the Trringtn Substatin the rw spacing was 22 inches. A ttal f 17 safflwer varieties alng with Dakta flax were tested ver the 5-year perid beginning in We harvested the plants the latter part f September r during Octber after the seed matured, then sent a sample f the grain f each variety in each trial t the hemurgy Department, University f Nebraska, Lincln, Nebraska, fr il analysis. Results f Variety Trials The tables f results, 1 t 5 inclusive, shw the yie'd f grain in punds per acre, the average percentage f il, the average punds f il per acre, and the average height f plants in inches fr nly thse varieties which were grwn fr tw r mre years. Since nt all f the varieties were tested each year, the average figures were based n the percentage f Variety N-6 fr the years tested. Table 1 shws the results f the safflwer variety trials at the Trringtn Substatin fr the years 1949 t 1953 inclusive. The Trringtn trials were grwn n irrigated land at an elevatin f 4100 feet. Plantings made during the latter part f April gave higher yields than later planting. Of the varieties tested fr fur r mre years, N-6 gave the highest yield f grain, prducing an average f 1514 punds f grain per acre. N-8 and N-IO have a higher il cntent than N-6; N-8 is susceptible t rust, and N-IO des nt have enugh rt-rt resistance t be cnsidered as an irrigated variety. Results f the variety trials at the Gillette Substatin are given in Table 2. The trials here were grwn n dry land at 4544 feet. The average annual precipitatin is inches, with 8.63 inches cming during the five mnths' grwing seasn (May t September). The average grwing seasn is 139 days. Tw rw spacings (12 and 42 inches) were used. Slightly higher average yields were btained where the rws were spaced 42 inches apart. Of the varieties tested fr fur years, N-10 prduced the highest yield f grain and il per acre and als had the highest il cntent. It is earlier in maturity and mre druth-resistant than N-6. Table 3 shws the results f the variety trials at' Sheridan Substatin, which is n dryland at 3745 feet elevatin. The average grwing easn is 130 days and the average annual precipitatin is inches. Variety N-8 prduced the highest yield f grain and il ver a 3-year perid. It prduced an average f 776 punds f grain and 250 punds f il per acre. The grain cntained an average f 31.4 percent -6-

7 il and N-6 prduced slightly less grain and il per acre. ]0 had the highest il cntent (32.9 percent il). The resu'ts f the variety tr.als at the Archer Substatin are shwn in Table 4. This statin is n dryland with an altitude f 6062 feet. The average precipitatin is ] 5.82 inches and the grwing seasn is ]4] days. The variety trials were cnducted here fr a 3-year perid (195]-] 953 inclusive). Variety N -8 prduced the highest average yield f bth grain and il f the varieties tested fr three years, prducing an average f 768 punds f grain and 238 punds f il per acre. It prduced slightly mre than varieties N-6 and N-]O. The plts having rws spaced 42 inches apart yielded slightly mre in ] 953 than the plts with rws spaced ] 2 inches apart. Table 5 shws a summary f all the variety trials at all the dryland statins fr all years. Of the varieties tested fr three r mre years at all such statins, variety N-IO prduced the highest yield f il, prducing an average f 2]5 punds f il per acre. It had the highest average il cntent-32.6 percent. All safflwer varieties tested prduced a higher average yield f il per acre than Dakta flax, even thugh flax seed had the higher il cntent. Bibligraphy lassen, arl E., and Albert Hffman, Safflwer prductin in the western part f the Nrthern Great Plains. Neb. Agr. Exp. Sta. ir. 87. Faulkner, E. K., and L. H. Paules Saffmeal fr fal1ening lambs. Wy. Agr. Exp. Sta Mime. ir. 1. Faulkner, E K., and L. H. Paules Saffmeal fr fal1ening lambs. Wy. Agr. Exp. Sta. Mime. ir. 12. Hilstn, N. W.,. B. Rubicek, and L. H Paules Sybean meal, safflwer meal, and urea fr fal1ening steers. Wy. Agr. Exp. Sta. Mime. ir. 2. limate and Man U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbk f Agriculture. Riedl, W. A., and. M. Rincker Safflwer variety adaptatin trials in Wyming. Wy. Agr. Exp. Statin. Mime. ir Safflwer variety adaptatin trials in Wyming. Wy. Agr. Exp. Sta. Mime. ir

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12 mbining Is an Easy Way t Harvest Safflwer 12-