Ecophysiological Studies on Saudi Wild Safflower (Carthamus Oxyacantha Bieb) Seed Ecotypes

Carthamus oxyacantha is a widespread wild safflower species in Middle Eastern countries and northwestern India, including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted to evaluate and compare four C. oxyacantha ecotypes collected from different regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Al-Hassa, Al-Kharaj, Najran and Al- Jouf. Analysis of variance showed significant effects of ecotype on physiological traits (number of heads per plant, heads diameter (cm), number of seeds per head, thousand seed weight (g) and seed color). The ecotypes also significantly differed in their moisture, crude fat, crude protein, crude fiber, ash and carbohydrates seeds contents. Moisture varied from 5.5 to 6.3%, crude fat varied from 25.3 to 27.3%, crude protein from 9.6 to12.4%, crude fiber varied from 14.6 to 17.9%, ash from 3.2 to 4.2% and carbohydrates varied from 37.3 to 39.3%. The main fatty acids of linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids composed 89.7-97.2% of the total fatty acids in all ecotypes. The sum of linoleic, oleic and palmitic acids fatty acids in seed oil ranged from 88.5 to 92.1%. The tested ecotypes also varied in their amino acid composition of seed proteins. The seeds were rich in four amino acids: Arginine, Glycine, Valine and Leucine. According to the results of the present study, the Saudi C. oxyacantha oil seeds can be a potential source of protein and energy supplements in livestock feed.