Journal of Agricultural Science; Vol. 10, No. 5; 2018 ISSN 1916-9752 E-ISSN 1916-9760 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 92 Comparison of Safflower Cultivation in Two Seasons in the South of Brazil Marinez Carpiski Sampaio 1 , Reginaldo Ferreira Santos 2 , Paulo Sérgio Rabello de Oliveira 1 , Doglas Bassegio 2 , Carlos Augusto Rocha de Moraes Rego 1 , Lucas da Silveira 1 , Bruna Penha Costa 1 , Eloisa Mattei 1 & Juan López de Herrera 3 1 West State University of Paraná (UNIOESTE), Marechal Cândido Rondon, Brazil 2 West State University of Paraná (UNIOESTE), Cascavel, Brazil 3 Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain Correspondence: Marinez Carpiski Sampaio, West State University of Paraná (UNIOESTE), Marechal Cândido Rondon, Brazil. Tel: 55-45-99970-6661. E-mail: mari_marinez@hotmail.com Received: January 27, 2018 Accepted: March 1, 2018 Online Published: April 15, 2018 doi:10.5539/jas.v10n5p92 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v10n5p92 Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate the production components, grain yield and safflower character correlations as a function of two sowing seasons (autumn and winter). Safflower culture was implanted in 2014 in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The evaluation of safflower crop occurred in two seasons of the year, with the first growing season being characterized by sowing on April 30, 2014 (autumn), and the second growing season on July 30, 2014 (winter). The evaluations occur when the plants showed a 50% flowering and the following determination: plant height, number of branches per plant and chapters, stem diameter, dry weight of the stalk, dry mass of the branches dry mass of chapters and mass dry roots, grain yield, oil content and oil productivity. Growth stations were compared at 5% probability of error by the Student t test. For the study of correlations, Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient matrix (r) was estimated between the characters by means of the Student’s t-test, with a 5% probability of error. Except for the oil content and number of branches, safflower characters were benefited by early sowing in autumn. Safflower cultivated in autumn produced 3,820 kg ha -1 and in winter yielded 2,068 kg ha -1 . For the early cultivation of autumn, the characters have greater correlation, favored by the climatic conditions. Grain and oil productivity obtained correlation higher than 97% in both seasons. Keywords: Carthamus tinctorius L., sowing time, yield 1. Introduction The rise in concern for the preservation of the environment, together with the need to increase energy generation, results in the search for oleaginous alternatives to bioenergy production, such as safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) (Santos & Silva, 2015). Safflower is a crop with characteristics of easy adaptation to the Brazilian conditions, high potential of production and with satisfactory development in diverse types of soil (Santos et al., 2015). For the species to stand out in the national scenario, an important component is the climate, because its variations can mean the difference between success and failure of a harvest (Barteko et al., 2010). The southern region of Brazil has large climatic variations, with climate that ranges from tropical to typical temperate, with hot summers, winter with sensitive temperature drop, the largest annual temperature range of the country and annual regular rainfall, which enables varied crop species (Wrege et al., 2009). The development of safflower cultivation is influenced by the environmental conditions under which it is presented. The sowing season is an important factor that directly interferes with the agronomic characteristics and crop yield (Peixoto et al., 2008). Different research has shown the effects of sowing on yield, yield component and other agronomic characteristics of the crop (Mostafanezhad & Eivazi, 2010; Koutroubas et al., 2004). Late sowing may be responsible for the yield decline of safflower seeds, since the last flowering may not survive the high temperature and water deficit at the end of the season (Yau, 2007; Omidi & Sharifmoghadas, 2010). The plant’s development period is directly linked to its productivity. Thus, late sowing will be responsible for acceleration in the maturation phase due to the shorter development period, which leads to decrease