Safflower - what is it? Description, cultivation of a plant

Many cultures that are successfully cultivated in some regions remain unknown to the general public. This includes safflower. "What is it?" - many readers will ask. It turns out that safflower is a beautiful and useful plant. It is grown in the Caucasus, in the Kharkiv and Kursk regions, in Turkestan and the Crimea. The homeland of safflower is Afghanistan and Ethiopia. What is this plant famous for? Safflower - what is it? Let's talk about this in this article.

What is safflower

It is a herbaceous annual plant, which is considered to be a family of astroids or Compositae. Safflower has several more names: wild saffron, American or dyed thistle and safflower dyeing. The plant is very popular all over the world due to its unique features. First, these are useful properties. Safflower contains isocartamine, cartamidine, lyuteol glycoside, cartamine and chalcone glycosides. Secondly, this plant is used as an oilseed crop. It is grown in arid areas, where sunflower and other similar plants do not settle down so well.

Safflower tea

Medicinal plants and their use have long been studied both by traditional and folk medicine. Use tinctures, tea, decoctions to prevent and cure many diseases. Not an exception and safflower. What this is and in what form it is taken, we will consider further. Tea from this plant is very useful. First, it is a very strong diuretic. Tea cleanses the kidneys well. It is widely used in Chinese medicine. Healers recommend drinking this drink to those who suffer from heart failure. It is also useful to people who experience numbness of the limbs and who have anemia. Take tea should be for 4-6 months.

Flowers of a plant

The brewed safflower flowers eliminate inflammation, have a good effect on brain function, increase and improve blood flow, and reduce the risk of stroke. Such a drink is even used to prevent the appearance of malignant tumors and psoriasis. Very good safflower flowers help with amenorrhea and metritis in women. They also relieve rheumatic pains. Very good tea intake affects the composition of the blood. It reduces its viscosity and simultaneously lowers blood pressure. Tea has a restorative effect on the body, reduces fatigue, tones and invigorates. For medicinal purposes, the marginal flowers of the basket are used. They are collected at the time of full disclosure. Flowers contain a lot of useful substances.

A bit of history

Many medicinal plants and their application were studied by people several thousand years ago. The properties of safflower were known 3,000 years ago. From the flowers were made fragrant balms and aromatic oils, which were used in bathhouses and Greek halls. In China, the first mention of safflower is found in the documents of the year 1061. In this country, the plant was used to treat pneumonia, gastritis, leucorrhoea and amenorrhea. In Egypt, mantle dressings were painted with safflower solution. What a multifaceted application, is not it? Cultivation of safflower and its collection is a labor-intensive process. Therefore, it is used mainly for the preparation of medicines and in cooking.

Appearance

To learn the nature of safflower (what it is, we discussed), you need to have an idea of its appearance. The annual height reaches one, and sometimes even one and a half meters. The stem of the plant is branchy and has a whitish gloss. The leaves of safflower are rather dense. They have an oblong shape and slightly toothed edges. Their color is green. The upper leaves of a smaller size, promote good photosynthesis. They, like the thistle, have sharp spikes. Blossoms safflower from June to September. Inflorescences reach 3.5 centimeters in diameter. Petals of safflower have a yellow or orange-red color.

Safflower oil

A very valuable product, which gives safflower, is butter. It is obtained from peeled seeds. By its qualities it is not inferior to sunflower. It produces good varieties of margarine. In the East, oil is used as a substitute for saffron. The second grade, which is made from whole seeds, is used for technical purposes. It is used in the production of white dyes to prevent yellowing in the future. But that's not all. Such oil is used in soap making, in the manufacture of linseed oil and linoleum. The coloring matter that contains flowers is used in carpet making.

Seeds of safflower

Plant seeds contain up to 37 percent half-drying oil and about 12 percent protein. Safflower is also a good nutritious food, which contains a large amount of protein. Birds love the achenes of this plant very much. Each centner of safflower is 45-50 fodder units. Pellets go to feed animals. One kilogram of silage contains 13.3 tons of protein. Safflower honey is high in nutrients. It is rich in zinc, calcium, iron, chrome, silver and many useful trace elements. It is used as a remedy. Seeds of safflower are used to make cosmetic oil. It improves the skin condition and eliminates many skin diseases.

Biological features

This plant can not be called whimsical. Its seeds germinate at 2-3 degrees of heat. Germs can withstand short freezes from 4 to 6 degrees. Therefore, this culture can be planted both in spring and in autumn. It should be noted that plants planted in autumn give higher yields. Safflower is particularly demanding for heat during the flowering and ripening season. During this period, rainy weather is not desirable. Otherwise, the flowers will not be pollinated badly. Preferably there will be an easy drought. Seedlings appear already 8-10 days after sowing. The vegetation period lasts an average of 100-110 days. Seventy days after the emergence of the shoots, flowering begins, which lasts about a month. Baskets are not opened evenly. First, central, and later lateral processes begin to bloom. Leaves that adjoin the inflorescence, tightly compressed and do not allow ripe seeds to fall out.

Watering

Thanks to the powerful root system, which reaches its maximum size by the dry period, the plant is less demanding for irrigation. Roots penetrate the soil to a depth of two meters. Dense, fleshy leaves keep moisture well. The plant spends it very economically and well tolerates dry periods. Safflower requires less water, unlike other crops. Abundant watering of the plant is necessary during the swelling of seeds. During the development of buds a lot of soil moisture is required for high yields.

The soil

Safflower is not picky about the quality of the soil. This can be called its dignity. It can grow in infertile soil and even in saline soil. But safflower shows the greatest yield on chernozem and chestnut soils. Before planting the site must be deeply plowed. Excellent for planting loamy and sandy loamy soil. A high level of groundwater is also a preferred factor for growing safflower. But even in arid regions and unfavorable conditions this plant shows a high yield, unlike other oil crops.

Participation in crop rotation

It is better to plant safflower after pure vapors. However, the plant demonstrated a high yield even after spring and winter cereal crops. You can also plant safflower after the corn. After harvesting the plant, it is good to plant crops on the plot , for example, wheat. To do this, you must correctly calculate the rotation period. But, as it was said above, safflower is an unpretentious plant, which does not require special methods of agrotechnics.

Terms of sowing

The right time for sowing is very important for any culture. Future crops depend on this. In areas with an arid climate, it is necessary to plant and shoot as early as possible. The root system of the plant will have time to gain strength before the onset of drought and will provide the plant with moisture from the depth of the soil. The sowing can be very early, simultaneously with the planting of spring crops. Safflower is able to withstand frost and rise even at minimum temperatures. Late seeding can lead to the death of seeds, which will not be enough moisture in the upper layers of the soil.

Care of crops

The plant requires minimal maintenance. First, it is the breaking of the soil crust. Secondly, the thinning of sprouts after their appearance. Like any plant, safflower does not like the neighborhood with weeds. Therefore, regular weeding is required. Clogging of sowing with pink rose reduces the yield by 70 percent. Moisture to the plant is not required so much, so moisten the soil as needed.

Diseases and pests

Safflower, whose photo is in this article, is not very susceptible to diseases and pests. This distinguishes him from other oil crops. Among the main diseases can be identified rust, fusariosis, broomrape and septoriosis. Rust is very dangerous for safflower. This fungal disease, which manifests itself in the form of round brown pustules on the leaves. It can hit all crops and reduce yields. In order to combat this disease, chemical treatment is carried out. Effective agrotechnical measures and the selection of varieties that are resistant to diseases are considered effective. Among the main pests can be identified safflower fly and weevil, fire and aphids. The most dangerous is the safflower fly. Adult individuals lay eggs inside the bud, which subsequently damage them. Weevil beetles have an effect on the leaves, stems and leaves of the inflorescence. Their larvae feed on seeds and ovaries during their ripening. Aphids and a firefly are less common. For the destruction of pests are processed by chemical means.