SAFFLOWER AGRONOMIC CHARACTERS, YIELD AND ECONOMIC REVENUE IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER RAIN-FED CROPS IN A HIGH-ELEVATION, SEMI-ARID MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The objective of the research was to test whether safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) could be grown successfully and profitably as a rain-fed, winter, oil-seed crop at a high-elevation site in a semi-arid area. A three-year field experiment was conducted in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon at a site 995 m asl with a mean annual precipitation of 518 mm. Two safflower lines, Syrian Hama Local and PI301055, selected from earlier screenings, were compared with barley and lentil, the two dominant rain-fed crops, together with chickpea. Safflower flowered and matured more than a month later than the other three crops, and gave the highest dry matter at flowering. Safflower yielded more than chickpea and lentil, and there were no significant differences in yields between the safflower lines and barley, which is the highest yielding winter crop in semi-arid northern Bekaa. The straw yield of safflower was higher than that of barley, which was in turn higher than those of chickpea and lentil. According to calculations based on seed yield, safflower gave the highest net revenue of $191 ha⁻¹, followed by lentils ($160 ha⁻¹), chickpea ($97 ha⁻¹), and then barley ($27 ha⁻¹). Farmers in the semi-arid Bekaa Valley of Lebanon and in other areas with similar conditions are recommended to plant safflower to meet a regional vegetable oil deficit and to diversify cropping systems.