Safflower oil is considered to be one of the highest quality vegetable oils for human nutrition, containing up to 90% linoleic acid. The cultivation of safflower would enlarge the number of species to increase biodiversity and widen crop rotation. Very little effort on safflower breeding has been done in Germany. The knowledge of the pollination system is a prerequisite of efficiently designing future breeding programmes. The cross pollination rate between and within plots was investigated in Göttingen (Latitude: 51° 32' North and Longitude: 9° 57' East ) in 2004 and 2005. A plot of 10 m2 of non-spiny plants was surrounded by plots of spiny plants. Ten nonspiny plants each of the border rows and of the core were harvested individually. The rate of cross pollination was calculated as the ratio of spiny to non-spiny offsprings. The average cross pollination was 6.5% (core), 9.7% (border no.1) and 18.1% (border no. 2). In a second experiment the rate of cross pollination within plots was estimated from non-spiny plants grown in mixture with spiny plants. The outcrossing rate was about 63% in 2004, but about 30% in 2005. Isolating or covering flowers by bags or cloth should be considered in pedigree breeding
