Determination of taxonomic, phenological, ecological andagricultural characteristics of some safflower (Carthamus spp.) species in the black sea region

This research was conducted between 2018-2022 in order to determine the taxonomic, phenological, ecological and technological characteristics and agricultural potentials of Carthamus lanatus L. and Carthamus dentatus L. species, which are safflower species found in the natural flora of the Central Black Sea Region (Samsun, Sinop, Amasya, Çorum, Tokat, Ordu, Trabzon and Artvin). According to the results: It was determined that the species, which were clearly distinguished from each other by making their diagnoses, showed differences in terms of seed morphology and surface patterns. C. lanatus seeds had a long and pointed structure and hilums were superficial, while C. dentatus seeds had a flattened and blunt structure and had a deep hilum. According to agricultural characteristics; C. dentatus L. species develops better in calcareous and moderately alkaline conditions and as altitude decreases; C. lanatus species develops better as altitude increases, and plant height is shorter as altitude decreases. In addition, it was determined that both safflower species can be evaluated in terms of plant height, number of branches per plant and number of heads per plant. According to phenolic compounds; total amount of phenolic compounds in the flowers was higher than in the phyllary leaves, differences found between the species and the locations within the species in terms of phenolic compounds, chlorogenic acid and chrisin compounds were found the highest in both species. According to fatty acid composition; the rate of linoleic acid was higher than the ratios of other fatty acids in both species and all locations, both safflower species belonged to the linoleic safflower group. As a result of the research, it has been concluded that C. dentatus and C. lanatus safflower species can be used as a gene source in the development of qualified safflower varieties due to their special agronomic and technological characteristics.