Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a member of the family Compositae (Asteraceae), cultivated mainly for its seeds, which is used as a source of edible oil and as birdseed. Traditionally, the crop was grown for its flowers, used for coloring, flavoring foods, making dyes (carthamidin and carthamin), and in medicine. Since Safflower is a drought tolerant crop, the objective of this research was the investigation of the seed yield and oil content of safflower under semi-arid conditions in eastern Algeria.
The results showed that