Evaluation of nutritional quality of safflower for use as animal feed

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an annual oil seed crop adapted to arid and saline regions of the world. It is potentially a novel food and medicine source, which has not been fully explored in the last century. Safflower’s ability to forage for sub-soil moisture with its vigorous tap root, tolerance to salinity, adaptability to a wide range of temperatures, improved oil content and its versatility to produce oil high in linoleic and oleic fatty acids makes it a viable alternative to current crops grown in the more marginal cropping areas around the world. This study was carried out to determine the nutritional quality of the safflower forage, seed and cake as an animal feed. Nine safflower genotypes were evaluated from September to December 2014 and January to April 2015 in a completely randomized block design with three replications in the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Notwane Farm under sandy loam soils. Results of the study showed that safflower genotypes significantly (p < 0.05) differed in their oil content, seed, leaf and cake after oil extraction, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and ash. The seed oil content significantly (p < 0.05) differed and varied between 26-42%. The leaf NDF, ADF, ADL and ash varied between 20.5-26.2%, 26.5-32.7%, 6.7-10.7% and 0.89-1.08%, respectively depending on genotype. Seed NDF, ADF, ADL and ash were also significantly (p< 0.05) affected by genetype and varied between 43.3-50.3%, 42.8-48%, 15.3-20.7% and 0.95-1.41%, respectively. This research showed that safflower has a big potential as an oilseed crop and source of animal feed in semi-arid Botswana.