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Effect of Organic and Mineral Fertilizer on Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Seed Yield and Yield Components

Author: Mohsen Edalat* and Ruhollah Naderi**

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Abstract

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an important oil crop which has a favorable production under low input conditions, particularly in organic farming systems. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of organic and mineral fertilizers including urea nitrogen (N), farmyard manure and municipal waste compost on growth, yield and yield components of safflower. The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Farm of School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, located at Badjgah in 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. Results showed that maximum seed yield was recorded at 50 tons compost ha-1. Seed yield showed a significant increase by increasing N from 0 to 100 kg ha-1 at 50 tons ha-1 of compost treatment; however increasing N beyond 100 kg ha-1 had no significant effect on safflower seed yield. Results of stepwise regression analysis showed that contribution of yield component of safflower varies with change in N and organic fertilizer application rates. Application o

Keywords

Compost, Farmyard manure, Stepwise regression, Organic carbon.

Conclusion

Our results showed a beneficial effect of municipal waste compost to reduce application of mineral nitrogen fertilizer. The optimal rate of application to guarantee the maximum safflower seed yield was50 tons compost ha-1 combined with 200 kg urea ha-1. It appears that 50% of the required N-fertilizer could be replaced by compost application. Stepwise regression results showed that contribution of yield components of safflower varies with change in urea N and organic fertilizer application rates. Compared to the control (no use of urea N and organic amendments), application of organic amendments had no effect on soil pH or EC. Application of 50 tons compost ha-1 increased total soil nitrogen. Organic amendments increased soil organic carbon, even though this increase was not significant.

References

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How to cite this article

Mohsen Edalat and Ruhollah Naderi (2016). Effect of Organic and Mineral Fertilizer on Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Seed Yield and Yield Components , Biological Forum – An International Journal 8(2): 172-180.