Speed breeding advancements in safflower ( L.): a simplified and efficient approach for accelerating breeding programs.

This study investigated the potential of extended irradiation combined with immature embryo culture techniques to accelerate generation advancements in safflower ( L.) breeding programs. We developed an efficient speed breeding method by applying light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit specific wavelengths, alongside the in vitro germination of immature embryos under controlled environmental conditions. The experimental design for light treatments followed a 2 × 4 completely randomized factorial design with four replications, incorporating two safflower varieties, Remzibey-05 and Dinçer, and four LED treatments (white, full-spectrum, red + blue + white, and control). A lighting regimen of 22 h of light and 2 h of darkness was applied for all the LED treatments, whereas the control received 18 h of light and 6 h of darkness. Additionally, the immature embryo culture experiment used a 2 × 2 × 4 factorial arrangement, assessing two safflower cultivars, two media types, and four embryo developmental stages, with three replications. The parameters evaluated included plant height, branch number, seed number per plant, seed number per head, time to flower initiation, time to 50% flowering, time to harvest, and germination percentage of in vitro cultured immature embryos at various developmental stages. The harvest time among the light treatments ranged from 50.62 to 73.12 days, with the shortest time achieved under the red + blue + white LED combination and the longest under the control treatment. The plant height, number of seeds per plant, and number of seeds per head were highest under the full-spectrum LED, control and red + blue + white LED combinations, respectively. Immature embryos rescued at 10 days post-pollination presented a 57% germination rate, with an increasing trend in germination as the number of days post-pollination increased. The germination rates did not significantly differ across varieties or hormone treatments. This study demonstrated the potential to achieve six generations per year by combining prolonged illumination with targeted LED lighting and immature embryo culture techniques. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing safflower growth and development and advancing speed breeding in controlled environments.