• Charles Mazereku
• Jerekias Gandure
• Clever Ketlogetswe

Countries around the world have begun developing strategies to encourage the use of alternative fuels and mitigate the negative impacts of fossil fuel use. The current study examines the possibility of using safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L) as an alternative biodiesel feedstock by exposing it to different types and amounts of plant growth regulators to optimize oil production. Four common plant growth regulators were applied in three doses; Kinetin: 10 mg/L, 20 mg/L, and 40 mg/L; Benzyl adenine (BA); 3mM, 6mM and 9mM; Maleic hydrazine was applied in three doses: 1m, 2m and 4m; 2,3,5-Triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) was used at three dosages: 0.5mM, 1.0mM and 1.5mM and as a control water was mixed with sodium hydroxide. These rates represented 13 treatments, repeated three times and designed in a fully randomized design, and two experiments were performed, batch 1 and batch 2. For individual plant growth regulators, maleic hydrazide had a descending effect from a lower concentration of plant growth regulator to a higher concentration in treatments 1-3. Benzyl adenine had no discernible effect on the 1000-grain weight of safflower seeds. The effect of 2,3,5-triidobenzoic acid had an ascending effect, treatment 7, which had the lowest concentration, had the lowest 1000 seed weight, and treatment 9 had the highest seed weight and highest concentration. All plant growth regulator results significantly increased 1000 seed weight at lower concentrations compared to control but the oil content of maleic hydrazide and TIBA applied rates did not exceed that of control in either batches 1 and 2.

plant growth regulators, safflower, biodiesel, alternative energy, biomass

"Effect Of Plant Growth Regulators On Safflower Oil Yield ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 7, page no.i75-i86, July-2023, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2307812.pdf

"Effect Of Plant Growth Regulators On Safflower Oil Yield ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 7, page no. ppi75-i86, July-2023, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2307812.pdf