What is the best time to harvest safflower?

Safflower is a common medicinal herb in our country, and it is grown in many regions, but because it is difficult to harvest, the timing must be well controlled when harvesting, so when is safflower harvested?

1. When is safflower harvested?

Spring-sown safflower is generally harvested after Minor Heat, while autumn-sown safflower is generally harvested around the Start of Summer, and picking is finished in about half a month. When picking, try to harvest on the morning of the third day after the safflower buds open, and the best time to pick the flowers is on a sunny morning after the dew has dried, that is, between 9 and 10 o'clock. It should not be too early or too late, so as not to affect the quality after drying.

2. How is safflower harvested?

When harvesting, use the thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger of one hand to gently pinch the lower part of the flower head at the top of the bud, turn it slightly to one side and lift it up, and the flower head is easily picked off. For each batch, the standard for picking is “only pick when the flower head turns from yellow to red”, so that flower heads that are yellow and have not turned red are not picked, and buds that are bent (hidden) below are not missed. Each bud generally produces flower heads in three batches; the first batch accounts for 60% of the total yield, and the second and third batches each account for 20%. The interval between each batch is 3-5 days, so safflower generally takes 15-20 days from the beginning of flower head emergence to the end of flowering. After the safflower flower heads finish flowering, they immediately enter the seed filling and ripening stage (at this time, spraying foliar fertilizer outside the roots can increase safflower seed yield by 20%); when most of the safflower leaves turn yellow and wither, the safflower seeds can be harvested. For small-scale planting, the whole plant can be cut down with a sickle, dried in the sun, and threshed (rolling with a roller cannot be used); for large-scale planting, it is best to use a combine harvester for harvesting wheat, and after appropriate adjustment it can be used for harvesting. The safflower seeds harvested in this way are clean, unbroken, not moldy, of good quality, and highly efficient; after being dried in the sun and winnowed clean, they can be sold.

Overall, safflower is best picked between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning on the third day after the buds open, and when picking, try to finish within half a month, so as not to affect the quality after drying.