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Safflower Planting Dates
Optimum planting dates fro safflower are between April 20 and May 10. Early planting allows the crop to take full advantage of the entire growing season. Planting prior to April 10 shows no advantage since cool soil temperatures (below 40 F) prevent germination and encourages seedling blight. Planting after May 20 increases the risk of fall frost injury and disease that reduce seed yield and quality. Delayed planting may delay harvest to the point where mechanical drying of the seed is necessary. Late planting generally results in shorter plants, decreased branching, and lower seed and oil yields, even if frost damage does not occur and/or disease incidence is low.
Use high quality seed that has good germination (above 80%) and is treated for prevention of seedling diseases. Safflower seedlings are not vigorous. Soil crusting can be a major deterrent to adequate stand establishment. Planting depths of 1 to 1.5 inches are optimum. Recommended seeding rates are from 20 to 30 pounds per acre of pure live seed. Lower seeding rates will result in branches lower to the ground, delayed maturity, and poor weed competition. High seeding rates may result in thick stands with higher disease incidence, overcrowding, and less branching, especially in years of low precipitation. If possible, place seed into moisture; however, do not seed safflower deeper than 2 inches. Usually uniform emergence resulting in better stands is obtained with shallow seeding. Seeding into dry soil and allowing spring rains to recharge this germination zone is preferred to deep planting into moist soil.
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