MSU research puts new safflower varieties up for licensing

MSU News Service

BOZEMAN — Montana State University researchers have produced two new varieties of spineless safflower, an oilseed crop that can also be used as a cover crop, as well as for livestock grazing and wildlife forage. These technologies — a spineless red and a spineless white — are now available for licensing. Bid submission forms are due April 28.

Besides being drought-tolerant and capable of withstanding hailstorms, the spineless red variety, known as Rubis red, showed high seed yield and oil content, while the spineless white variety, known as Baldy, is adapted for higher elevations and is recommended for growing in Montana, Kansas, Utah and southern Idaho.

MSU has 257 licenses from technologies developed by faculty and researchers. Of those, 75 licenses are with Montana companies.

For additional information on the safflower varieties, as well as the bid submission forms, visit the MSU Technology Transfer Office website at http://tto.montana.edu/tech/ag.html. For more information, contact Gary Bloomer, MSU Technology Transfer Office, at 406-994-7483 or [email protected].