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above sea level but the surrounding mountains, which are perpetually snow-clad, rise
from 3,000-4,000 m above sea level (www.jammukashmir.nic.in/profile/facts.htm).
In India most of the saffron production is limited to the state of Jammu &
Kashmir. In Kashmir saffron is chiefly grown in the Pulwama District (73 %)
(Pampore, Balhuma,Wayun, Munpur, Mueej, Konibal, Dus, Zundhur, Letpur,
Sombar, Baras, Ladu and Khrew), Badgam District (Chadura, Nagam, Lasjan,
Ompora and Kralpura), Anantnag District (Zeripur, Srechan, Kaimouh, Samthan and
Buch), Srinagar District (Zewan; Zawreh and Ganderbal) and Doda District
(Kishtwar) (Mir, 1992; Zargar, 2001). Saffron is believed to have been introduced
into the Kashmir valley by the Persian migrants, who along with saffron, introduced
many other plant species, especially the Maple tree known locally as Chinar or Boune
and arts and crafts such as carpet making, embroidery and papier-machie products, to
name a few (Kafi et al., 2006; www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/saffro03.html).
Presently, Iran with a production of more than 70% of the global saffron ranks
first, while India, which produces 7.0 t, ranks third. Saffron, besides being a foreign
exchange earner for both Iran and India, it provides high water productivity, rural
employment and high net profit compared to other crops. (Kafi et al., 2006; Zargar,
2001). More than 90% of Iranian saffron is produced in Khorasan and main regions of
production are Ghaen, Torbat-e-Heydarieh, Gonabad, Ferdows and Birjand. Khorasan
province is located in the east of Iran, having a dry climate, hot summers and
relatively cold winters. The annual precipitation of this area is 170 mm with no
rainfall from May till October. Therefore, all agricultural crops must be irrigated at all
growth stages (Kafi et al., 2006). The total area under saffron cultivation in Iran
increased almost four fold during the last 12 years with a mean annual growth rate of
22.4 %. A similar trend was observed for total saffron production (Fig. 1). However,
total saffron production during the same period increased 2.8 times, with a mean
annual growth rate of 13.7 % (Statistics and Information Center of Ministry of Jehad e
Keshavarzi, 2002; Saffron production in Iran. Report No. 12).
This trend was converse in India during the last 10 years. Saffron, which has
been a legendary, high value and low volume cash crop of Jammu & Kashmir, is still
under-exploited. It was once the chief crop of Kashmiri farmers and is on the decline
now, as is evident from the fact that till 1997-98 the total area under saffron
cultivation in the Valley was 5361 ha and the annual production output was
approximately 17 mt of dry yield while in 2002-03 the total cultivated area was 2710
ha and the production was approximately 6 mt. The decline in cultivation area and
production since 1997-98 is 49 % and 64 % respectively (Molafilabi, 1994;
www.jammukashmir.nic.in/profile/facts.htm; Zargar, 2001).
This survey has been conducted to find out the similarities and differences in
saffron production in Khorasan, Iran and Kashmir, India, so that the farmers of the
two countries could benefit from each others experiences.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The survey was conducted in agronomical years of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.
There are four main districts of saffron production in Kashmir, namely, Pulwama,
Badgam, Srinagar and Doda. From each district four local farmers were randomly
selected and interviewed by answering a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised
of 27 questions, which was common for all the farmers. Interestingly, the answers
were so similar and these similarities are also visible in the cultural practice, shape of
farms, as well as post-harvesting practices of saffron in Kashmir Valley. Therefore,
significant differences could not be found among the four areas, but based on these
results, it could be concluded that farmers in Pulwama district were better informed
and were prepared to apply scientific methods. Generally, there is no significant
difference between the systems of saffron production in the 21st century compared
with the last three centuries in this state. The Kashmir region has a very low literacy
percentage (about 59 %), which may be one of the reasons why they are hesitant to
use new methods of farming.
However, certain data, collected while interviewing Kashmiri farmers
consecutively during 2004 and 2005, were conflicting. These parameters included
number of flowers per kilogram (kg), weight of fresh and dry stigma in one kg of
flowers, moisture content of different parts of the flower, efficiency of flower picking
and separating stigma from other parts of the flower.
Data of Khorasan were taken from the results of current researches which have
carried out in the area as well as from other resources available, and by interviewing
farmers in Birjand, Ferdows, and Ghaen. Apart from indigenous knowledge of
farmers and system of production, there are some geographical and climatical
differences that affect the production of saffron in Kashmir and Khorasan. The
climatic and soil conditions of both these countries are detailed below.
Tables 1 and 2 show long term average climatic data of two synoptic
meteorological stations of Birjand (central area of South Khorasan) and Srinagar
(central area of Kashmir). These data revealed that there are many differences
between the climates of two regions, however, both the areas are capable of growing
saffron. For instance, in the case of precipitation, the amount of rainfall in Kashmir is
3.7 times of that of Birjand. The relative humidity of the two regions is quite diverse.
The relative humidity of Srinagar is rarely below 50 % while in Birjand this parameter
is recorded as low as 22 %. The only similarity, which might be the most important
factor for saffron growing, is the temperature (Tables 1 and 2). Although Birjands
mean maximum temperature is always higher than that of Srinagar, the trend,
particularly in mean minimum temperature, and the difference between the maximum
and minimum temperature of two cities, is nearly the same (Fig. 2).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Method of Planting
In Kashmir, at the advent of spring, i.e. in late March, which lasts till April,
the field is repeatedly ploughed either by a plough, or twice by tractor at an interval of
about 20 days. Subsequently, in August leveling and hoeing operations are carried
out. Fields are pulverized three to four times. Ideally 15-20 t of well-decomposed
farm manure per hectare of land are applied and thoroughly mixed into the soil before
the last tillage operation (Mir, 1992; Munshi et al., 2001; Zargar, 2001).
The field is laid out into 1.5-2 meter wide strips (normally 2-3 m long) across
the field with slopes along the sides, which end up in 30 cm wide 20 cm deep
drainage channels on both sides. These channels help in draining out the excess water.
The corms are sown 12-15cm below these raised beds at a distance of 10x20 cms. The
most suitable time for sowing the corms is from the last week of August till mid
September, however, some farmers also sow corms after this period, but the yield is
not up to the expectations (Mir, 1992; Munshi et al., 2001; Zargar, 2001).
In Khorasan saffron is planted either in dry or moist beds. In traditional
systems, corms are planted in hills 25 cm apart and with sometimes up to 15 corms
per hill with no row arrangement. When corms are planted in rows, shallow ditches
30-35 cm apart are made by a furrower and corms are arranged in hills of 3 to 15
corms and finally covered with soil. Flat bed planting in Khorasan has been reported
corms and cultural practices can influence the size of the flower and stigma inside it
(Kafi et al., 2006; Mir, 1992). The results of one experiment showed the varied age of
the fields had no effect on the number of flowers in a unit weight. On average in each
kilogram of fresh saffron flowers in Khorasan, there were 2,173 flowers (with the
coefficient of variation = 9.73%). Table 3 shows the weight of the parts of the flower
on the basis when they were fresh or dry (Molafilabi, 1994).
For producing one kg of dry stigma (superior saffron) 105.4 kg of fresh
flowers are required, which is equal to about 230,000 flowers. For producing one kg
of dry stigma and style (standard saffron) 78.5 kg of fresh flowers are required, which
is equal to 170,000 flowers. By taking these results into consideration, it becomes
quite clear that in 100 g standard saffron of Khorasan there are 25.5 g of style and
74.5 g of stigma (Kafi et al., 2006; Mir, 2001; Molafilabi, 1994).
The results for checking the number of flowers per kg in three different
regions of Kashmir Valley showed that the number of flowers per kg varied between
2,680 and 3,840, which indicates that the saffron flowers of Kashmir are smaller than
those of Khorasan. There may be two reasons behind these results, firstly the tails of
the picked flowers in Khorasan are longer, which make the flower heavier. Secondly,
the moisture content of Kashmiri saffron is lower than that of Khorasan, because the
flowers after emergence are kept for few days in the field and the flowers lose their
water content thereby becoming lighter in weight, whereas in Khorasan, the flowers
are picked early in the morning, every day and, therefore, the relative water content of
the flowers is high. Comparing the results of Tables 3, 4 and 5 shows that Khorasani
saffron contains 80 % moisture while Kashmiri saffron contains 68.5 % moisture. The
tests that have been carried out on saffron in Kashmir show that the parts of a fresh
saffron flower contain 8 % stigma, 2 % style, 80 % sepals and petals, 8 % stamen and
2 % residue while in the data of Table 3, Khorasan saffron contains about 3 % style
(Mir, 1992; Mir, 2001).
CONCLUSIONS
Although the principle of saffron production in Kashmir and Khorasan are
similar, there are many differences in the methods of production, processing and
marketing. These differences arise from parameters such as climate, technical
facilities, economical situations and government policies. The main similarities and
differences in methods of production, processing and marketing of saffron are
presented in Table 5. In Kashmir if the state government does not take steps to
educate farmers of the latest developments and how these new methods can help them
to increase their yield, the future of saffron cultivation is very bleak.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I remain indebted to my colleagues at the Center of Excellence for Special
Crops at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad for their technical and moral support.
Literature Cited
Ganai, M.R. 2001. Nutrient status of saffron soils and their management. Seminarcum-Workshop on the Development of Saffron, Srinagar-India.
Ghani. M. Y. 2001a. Post harvest handling & processing of saffron. Seminar- cumWorkshop on the Development of Saffron.
Gharaii, H.A. and Beygi, M. 1991. Evaluation of physicochemical and mineralogy of
soils in Saffron growing areas of Estahban. Scientific and Research Organization
of Iran Shiraz Institute, annual report.
Hassan; Badrul and Shah, M. H. 2001. Increased sustainability & yield of saffron in
Kashmir. Seminar-cum- Workshop on the Development of Saffron, SrinagarIndia.
Ingram, J. S. 1984. Saffron (Crous sativus L.). Trop. Sci. 11:1771-1774.
Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization. Meteorological Yearbooks
1955-2000. I. R. of Iran Meteorological Organization, Tehran, Iran.
Kafi, M., A. Koocheki, M.H. Rashed Mohassel, M, Nassiri. 2006. Saffron, production
and processing. Science Publishers, New Hampshire, USA.
Mir, G.M. 1992. Saffron Agronomy in Kashmir. Gulshan Publishers, Srinagar- India.
Mir, M.A. 2001. Post harvest and processing of saffron. Seminar-cum- Workshop on
the Development of Saffron, Srinagar-India.
Molafilabi, A. 1994. Study of the Flower Components of saffron-Proceedings of
Second National Congress on saffron & Medicinal Plants. Scientific & Industrial
Research organization of Iran, Khorasan Institute (Persian).
Munshi, A. M; Wani, S. A. and Tak, G. M. 2001. Improved cultivation practices for
saffron. Seminar-cum-Workshop on the Development of Saffron, Srinagar-India.
Sadeghi, B. 1983. Effects of corm weight on flower initiation of Saffron. Scientific
and Research Organization of Iran. Khorasan Institute, annual report.
Shahandeh, H. 1990. Evaluation of physico-chemical characters of soil and water for
Saffron production in Khorasan. Scientific and Industerial Research Organization
of Iran Khorasan Institute, annual report.
Shirmohamadi, A. and AliakbarKhani, Z. 2002. Effects of methods and number of
irrigations on Leaf Area Index, canopy temperature and yield of Saffron. MSc.
thesis,
Shiraz University.
Statistics and Information Center of Ministry of Jehad e Keshavarzi.2002. Saffron
production in Iran. Report No. 12.
www.Botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/saffro03.html
www.jammukashmir.nic.in/profile/facts.htm
Zargar, G.H. 2001. Genetic variation in saffron & importance of quality seed corms.
Seminar-cum- Workshop on the Development of Saffron, Srinagar-India.
Temperature
Average
Precipitatio
n (mm)
Average
Sunlight
hours/month
Min. Max.
Avg.
Jan
-2.2
11.0
4.4
33.8
Feb
-0.2
13.2
6.5
March
4.3
18.4
April
9.5
May
Relative humidity
Min.
Max.
Avg.
139.8
38
78
58
31.4
189.4
34
76
55
11.4
36.6
208.0
28
70
49
24.4
16.9
32.4
230.0
23
61
42
13.6
30.3
21.9
8.9
299.9
17
45
31
June
17.7
35.0
26.4
0.4
334.4
14
34
24
July
19.7
35.8
27.7
0.1
353.3
14
33
24
Aug
17.0
34.5
25.8
0.1
350.6
14
35
25
Sept
12.1
31.7
21.9
0.1
302.3
14
36
25
Oct
6.9
26.4
16.7
2.2
285.5
18
45
32
Nov
2.2
19.7
11.0
7.9
230.1
23
59
41
Dec
-1.1
13.3
6.1
22.1
193.4
34
73
54
Annual
8.3
176
3,171.2
22.6
54
36.8
24.5
16.4
Temperature
Min.
Max.
Avg.
-2.0
-1.0
3.0
7.0
11.0
14.0
18.0
18.0
12.0
5.0
-1.0
-2.0
6.8
5.0
7.0
14.0
19.0
24.0
29.0
31.0
31.0
28.0
22.0
16.0
9.0
19.0
1.5
3.0
8.5
13.0
17.5
21.5
24.5
24.5
20.0
13.5
7.5
3.5
13.0
Average
Precipitation
(mm)
74
71
91
94
61
36
58
61
38
31
10
33
658
Average
Sunlight
Hours/mon.
93
112
124
180
248
240
248
248
240
248
210
155
2,346
Relative
Humidity
a.m.
p.m.
90
76
88
68
84
57
79
52
71
43
67
40
73
46
78
49
76
43
78
48
82
51
88
63
79.5
53
Table 3. The average weight of the parts of the flower that comprised one kilogram of
fresh flowers
Stigma (g)
Style (g)
Stamen (g)
Fresh weight
47.39
28.93
59.35
864.33
Dry weight
9.48
3.26
14.78
98.36
Table 4. The average weight of one kilogram of fresh flowers from different parts of
Kashmir
Region
Flowers/kg
Khrew (Pampore)
Charar-e-Sharif (Budgam)
2,680
3,840
Wet saffron
weight g/kg
64.0
65.5
Dry saffron
weight g/kg
18.0
20.4
Moisture
content (%)
71.9
68.9
Zaiwan (Pulwama)
3,328
60.0
21.2
64.7
Chadura (Pulwama)
Average
3,004
3,213
62.0
62.9
19.6
19.8
68.4
68.5
>1,500
60-85
600-800
Lacustrine deposits (Karewas),
1
Single corm
40 - 50
>1,000
40-50
120-210
Variable soils
<1
3-15
150-250
Interspacing (cm)
Sowing depth (cm)
Corm planting rate (t/ha)
Maximum age of the field (years)
Irrigation (No. of times)
Flower yield in first year (kg/ha)
Flower yield in second year (kg/ha)
Flower yield in third year (kg/ha)
Flower yield, third to eighth year (kg/ha)
Average flower yield (kg/ha/year)
Pests
Duration of flowering
Interval of flower picking (once/days)
Time of flower picking in the day
Flower transportation
Mean yield (kg/ha)
Marketable part
Number of flower/kg
Moisture content at harvesting (%)
Final moisture content (%)
Labor cost/day (US $)
Local price (US$/kg)
Quality control
10 - 20
10 - 15
5-7
5 to 20 years
Rain, no irrigation
Almost negligible
10 - 20
40 - 50
80 - 150
100
Mice
20th Oct. -10th Nov.
3-4
9 am 6 pm
In baskets
3.2
Stigma
2,700 3,000
70
Approx. 8 - 10
2-3
580
No control by government or
associations
25 - 30
15 - 20
10 - 12
7 - 12
At least 5
10 - 20
30 - 40
120 - 170
150 - 250
175
Mice & other rodents
20th Oct.-10th Nov.
Picked everyday
6 am - 10 am
In bags
4.7
Stigma, fresh flower
2,000 2,500
80
Approx. 7
3-5
350
Controlled by
government and
associations
Wheat, barley
Method of drying
Five main destinations for export
Shade, oven
UAE, Spain, Italy,
France, Switzerland
50
200
160
Khorasan (Ton)
0
20
02
-2
00
3
Time
19
97
-9
8
40
19
96
-9
7
10
19
95
-9
6
80
19
94
-9
5
20
19
93
-9
4
120
19
91
-9
2
30
Production (Ton)
40
19
90
-9
1
Temperature(0C)
Fig. 1, Trend of area under cultivation, and production of saffron in Kashmir (India)
and Khorasan (Iran) during 1990-2002. The omission of some years between these
periods is due to non-availability of official data
Srinagar Min.
Birjand Min.
Birjand Max.
Srinagar Max.
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
n
Ja
Fe
ar
M
Ap
ay
M
n
Ju
ly
Ju
Au
Se
pt
ct
O
ov
ec
Month of Year