Variety traits

Safflower maturity group

Carthamus tinctorius L.

The maturity group of safflower is determined by the duration of the growing season from emergence to full seed maturity, which ranges from 90 to 140 days.

In the reference 10 varieties crop Safflower, where this is mentioned in the description.

For the safflower crop (Carthamus tinctorius), there is no rigid standardized classification of maturity groups. In breeding practice, varieties are categorized descriptively: early-maturing and mid-maturing varieties are characterized by a growing season of 90 to 110 days, while late-maturing varieties require 120 days or more to reach maturity.

The duration of the safflower growing season depends heavily on environmental conditions and agronomic practices. Changes in sowing dates, seeding rates, and row spacing can shorten interphase periods by 2–10 days. When planning production, the choice of maturity group is critical for adaptation to climatic zones with short frost-free periods or the risk of drought.

Late-maturing safflower varieties are subject to risks of reduced crop quality under adverse weather conditions at the end of the season. Wet and cool weather during the ripening period can trigger head rot, so varietal maturity group characteristics serve as an auxiliary tool for optimizing the harvesting campaign.

General information about the subject — on the page Maturity group.

Sources8

Varieties of Safflower mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.