Molecular Plant Breeding 2016, Vol.7, No.31, 1
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Same author also indicated that number of seed per head had positive direct effect on seed yield of safflower.
This study was undertaken to determine the associations of the characters and identify the direct and indirect
effect of these characters on the yield of safflower.
1 Results and Discussion
The associations of characters measured have been depicted in Table 2. Significant postive association was
recorded between seed yield and days to flowering (0.190), plant height (0.234), number of capitula (0.172) and
hundred seed weight (0.197). Similar result was obtained on plant height, number of capitula and hundred seed
weight (Omidi, 1994; Johnson et al., 2001; Omidi, 2001; Arslan, 2007; Omidi et al., 2009; Ahmadzadeh, 2013).
Highly significant postive association was also recorded between seed yield and number of seed per plant (0.834).
Plant height had highly significant postive relationship with number of branches (0.307), number of capitula
(0.518) and number of seed per plant (0.309). Number of branches showed highly significant postive association
with number of capitula (0.547). Number of capitula also showed highly significant association with number of
seed per plant (0.321). Postive significant correlation was revealed between number of capitula and number of
seed per capitula (0.177), which agrees with the result of Consentino et al. (1997). Highly significant postive
relationship was recored between number of seed per capitula and number of seed per plant (0.231). In the present
investigation, correlation of traits of the accessions might be as a result of pleiotropic action of genes or as a result
of the pressure of natural selection (Falconer, 1986).
Table 2 Characters association of 162 Safflower accessions during 2012 cropping season
DF
PH
NB
NC
NSC
NSP
SYP
PH
-0.060
NB
-0.080
0.307**
NC
-0.145
0.518**
0.547**
NSC
0.154
0.039
0.144
0.177*
NSP
0.116
0.309**
0.137
0.321**
0.231**
SYP
0.190*
0.234*
0.087
0.172*
0.103
0.834**
HSW
0.112
0.025
-0.010
-0.054
-0.048
0.055
0.197*
Note: *, ** significant at p≤0.05 and p≤0.01 level, respectively; DF: Days to flowering; PH: Plant height; NB: Number of branches;
NC: Number of capitula; NSC: Number of seed per capitula; NSP: Number of seed per plant; SYP: Seed yield per plant; HSW:
Hundred seed weight
Path analysis showed that days to flowering, plant height, number of branches, number of seed per plant and
hundred seed weight had positive direct effect while number of capitula and number of seed per capitula showed
negative direct effect on the seed yield of safflower (Table 3). The highest positive direct effect on seed yield was
recorded by number of seed per plant and hundred seed weight. Therefore, considering these traits as selection
criteria in improving seed yield of safflower would be worthy. Similar result was also obtained by (Eslam et al.,
2010; Ahmadzadeh et al., 2012). A high positive direct effect of 100 seed weight was also reported by (Mahasi et
al., 2006; Patil et al, 1994; Ashri et al., 1976; Uslu et al., 1997; Lahane et al., 1999) reported that capitula per plant
was the most important yield component. In this study, the postive correlation of number of capitula with seed
yield was a result of the indirect effect of this character via number of seed per plant, which was the most
important yield component as depicted in path analysis.
