Masoud Eskandari Torbaghan - Academic Member of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Khorasan Razavi
Mehrnoush Eskandari Torbaghan - Ph.D Student of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

Farm management has a great impact on crop yield. In order to determine the best sowing date of safflower in dryland conditions, 2-years field trials were carried out at the Dryland Agricultural Research Station of Shirvan with cold and low-rainfall climate. The experiment was performed in face of factorial in randomized complete block design with four replications. Experimental factors consisted of five genotypes and three sowing dates include fall, Entezari (dormant seeding) and spring. The highest grain yield obtained from Entezari sowing. Sina variety was cold tolerant and more suitable for dry land fall sowing. Sina variety had the highest grain yield in fall and spring sowing whereas Gila variety and line PI-250537 had the highest grain yield in Entezari sowing. Stand decreased in fall sowing due to cold damage and this declining was lower than the other genotypes in Sina variety and was higher than all in the Isfahan local variety. Sina variety had the best stand in all three sowing dates. According to the result of this study, the best safflower cultivation method in cold dryland regions is Entezari sowing system (dormant seeding). It was also clarified that safflower planting in a relatively wide range, is possible

Carthamus tinctorius, Date of flowering, Oilseed crop, Cold dry-land regions