New high oil yield safflower variety SSF 12-40 for rainfed and irrigated conditions of India: New high oil yield safflower variety SSF 12-40 for rainfed and irrigated conditions of India

Safflower variety SSF-1240 was derived by hybridization followed by pedigree selection method from the cross Bhima x A1. It has semi-spreading habit with medium bold seeds. The variety is moderately tolerant to aphids and moderately resistant to wilt. In various multi-location trials conducted during 2015-16 to 2017-18, it consistently recorded better performance over national check A1 and PBNS-12. It has also recorded 19.21% higher oil yield over A1 and 13.23% over the check PBNS-12. The variety was notified during 2019 for cultivation in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana states.