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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #120677
Title: SAFFLOWER PRODUCTION AS INFLUENCED BY PREVIOUS CROPS

Author
item Tanaka, Donald
item Krupinsky, Joseph
item Merrill, Stephen
item Ries, Ronald

Submitted to: International Safflower Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Crop production systems in the Great Plains have evolved on the premise that water is the driving variable. Improved techniques and technologies have resulted in crop production systems that are more intensive and diversified. Many crop production systems include 3 to 5 crops. Safflower is adapted to the semi-arid regions of the world and is a good crop that can be included in wheat based systems in the Northern Plains. No-till research was conducted 11 km southwest of Mandan, ND to determine the influence of previous crop and crop residues on safflower production and where safflower fits into the production system. Safflower was seeded where the previous crops were canola, crambe, dry pea, dry bean, flax, safflower, soybean, sunflower, wheat, and barley. Surface residue cover after seeding was the highest for wheat, barley, and flax and lowest for dry pea, dry bean, and sunflower. Safflower production was 220% to 150% greater than safflower after safflower when the previous crop was flax, barley, wheat, or dry pea. Safflower production was the lowest when the previous crop was safflower or sunflower. Sustainability of crop production systems that include safflower will be determined by previous crop and crop residues and the crop sequence in which safflower is grown.

Technical Abstract: Safflower is a good crop to include in cereal base cropping systems in the Northern Great Plains of the USA and Canada because it is adapted to semi- arid regions of the world. No-till field research was conducted 11 km southwest of Mandan, ND to determine the influences of previous crop and crop residue on safflower (Carthamus tintorius) production. Four replicates of safflower were seeded over ten crop residues [(canola (Brassica napus), crambe (Crambe abysinnica), dry pea (Pisum sativum L.), dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), safflower, soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)] in 1999 and 2000. Averaged over the two years, surface residue cover after seeding safflower was the highest for wheat, barley, and flax (95 to 86%) and the lowest for dry pea, dry bean, and sunflower (82 to 31%). Safflower production after flax, barley, wheat, and dry pea was 220 to 150% greater than safflower production after safflower. The sustainability of diversified cropping systems that include safflower will be determined by the previous crop and crop residues and the crop sequence in which safflower is grown.