DEVELOPING NEW CHARACTERISTICS DURING 50 YEARS OF SAFFLOWER BREEDING

David D. Rubis

 Abstract

            This is a review of many characteristics discovered and developed during a span of 50 years of safflower breeding.  I was associated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1952 to 1956, with the University of Arizona 1956 to 1986 and on my own since 1986.  Most of the research dealt with breeding to make safflower an important crop for production.  Most exciting for me has been the discovery of new mutant genes, thin hull (th), striped-hull (stp, stp^p) and pigmentless (p).  The thin-hull character has been indispensable for making crosses and for the development of hybrid safflower.  The most interesting long-time program was the development of a wild composite by intercrossing wild species with domestic safflower.  The characteristics that came from that program were hybrid females, lygus resistance, spineless pointed bracts, and small birdseed.  The most recent and probably the most important character has been the development of day-length neutral safflower.

Key words: seed characteristics, hull mutants, bee pollinations, day length, thin hull