Study of Nitrogen Rates and Nano Urea Effects on Physiological Parameters and Yield of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an important oil seed crop, essential as vegetable oil for humans and feed for livestock. The experiment was conducted in a split plot design to study the effects of foliar application of nano urea and urea on safflower growth and development. The results showed that application of 100% nitrogen in the form of urea topdressing at vegetative stage and foliar spray of nano urea twice at flowering and seed filling stages significantly improved the physiological parameters viz. plant height (cm), primary branches of safflower. The CSI, RWC, Seed yield (kg/ha), 100 seed weight (g) and hull content (%) of safflower also significantly improved with 100% N and foliar spray of nano urea twice at flowering and seed filling stages. The result from the study suggests that application of urea as split doses and foliar spray of nano urea at reproductive stage is beneficial for the crop and will improve seed yield and oil quality of safflower. Foliar application of nano urea improves the nutrient uptake by the crop through its slow and controlled release of nutrients. It also helps in reducing environmental pollution due to leaching of fertilizers.