Economics and Marketing
Milad Aminizadeh; Alireza Karbasi; Andisheh Riahi; Mohammadreza Ramezani
Abstract
Developing countries try to attend in trade agreements to achieve safer target markets and reduce trade barriers. Iran also is in trade agreements such as economic cooperation organization (ECO) and global system of trade preferences (GSTP). While there is generally believed that presence in trade agreements ...
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Developing countries try to attend in trade agreements to achieve safer target markets and reduce trade barriers. Iran also is in trade agreements such as economic cooperation organization (ECO) and global system of trade preferences (GSTP). While there is generally believed that presence in trade agreements generally has positive effect on countries trade flows, there is no any guarantee for positive effect on all countries and products. So, due to the importance of saffron exports for Iran, the aim of this paper is to answer the question of whether Iran’s membership in trade agreements has led to increase the saffron exports to member importing countries. For the purpose, gravity model and saffron exports data in the period of 2001-2014 are used. The results showed that income and population of saffron importers has positive and significant effects, while geographical distance and economic crisis has negative and significant effects on saffron exports. Based on the results, Iran’s membership in trade agreements has significantly negative effect (-3.475) on Iran’s saffron exports. In other words, membership in trade agreements cannot lead to increase Iran’s saffron exports to member trading countries in agreements. Therefore, it is suggested that exporting companies of saffron use the opportunities provided by participating in these trade agreements to take appropriate marketing policies and strategies in order to increase Iran's saffron exports to member trading partners in the agreement.
Biotechnology and genetics
Seid Mohammad Alavi-Siney; Jalal Saba; Seyyed Siamak Alavikia; Mohammad Reza Azimi
Abstract
In order to investigate the relationship between quantitative traits and ISSR markers, an experiments were carried out under farm and laboratory conditions at Zanjan University. In this experiment, 20 primers of ISSR marker were used and the agronomic traits (including flower number, fresh weight of ...
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In order to investigate the relationship between quantitative traits and ISSR markers, an experiments were carried out under farm and laboratory conditions at Zanjan University. In this experiment, 20 primers of ISSR marker were used and the agronomic traits (including flower number, fresh weight of Stigma, fresh weight of flower, dry weight of Stigma, dry weight of flower, stigma length, saffron yield, corm number, feresh and dry weight of corm, number of leaf, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, leaf dry weight, biomass, harvest index), physiological traits (transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis) and secondary metabolites (picocrocin, Safranal and Crocin) were measured during the growing season. Three primers of total did not amplified. 17 ISSR primers amplified 133 loci among 20 saffron ecotypes, with an average of 7.82 loci per primer. The highest number of alleles were for the I-8 primer (15 alleles).
Other subject about saffron
Ghasem Najari; Khoshnood Nourollahi; Maryam Piri
Abstract
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most important plant in the world that has been used in cooking, confectionery and drug productions because of the color and aromatic substances in its sigma. Corm rot disease is one of the most important diseases in Iran. For identification of causal agents, wild saffron ...
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Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most important plant in the world that has been used in cooking, confectionery and drug productions because of the color and aromatic substances in its sigma. Corm rot disease is one of the most important diseases in Iran. For identification of causal agents, wild saffron plants with wilt symptoms and rot lesions on corm were randomly collected in different regions of Ivan and Mehran in the Ilam province. Diseased samples were surface sterilized by dipping into domestic bleach solution (5% NaOCl). Then they were washed three times with sterile distilled water, dried with sterile filter paper and plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Samples were incubated for three days in an incubator at 20°C. A total of eight Fusarium isolates were obtained and purified using the single spore method. Fusarium oxysporium isolates were identified according to their morphological and microscopic characteristics as described by the identification key. The pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporium isolates were artificially tested in the greenhouse on a wild susceptible cultivar according to Koch’s principles.
Mojdeh Poorkhaleghi Chatroodi; Hossein Mehrabi Bashrabadi; Elham Khajepoor
Abstract
abstractOne of the alternative crops in Kerman province is saffron. This study aimed to investigate theeffective factors on Saffron cultivation in Dashtkhat during 1395. This is a practical and descriptive-inferential study. A questionnaire waS randomly distributed among 164 people and the reliability ...
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abstractOne of the alternative crops in Kerman province is saffron. This study aimed to investigate theeffective factors on Saffron cultivation in Dashtkhat during 1395. This is a practical and descriptive-inferential study. A questionnaire waS randomly distributed among 164 people and the reliability and validity of the gathered data was evaluated using Cronbach's α (0.76). Amonglogit and probit models, probit model was chosen based on the statistical results of Akaike and Bayesian criteria. Results of the study show that factors such as education, agronomic income, the drought level-based crop replacement and the replacement of crop based on the recommendation of other farmers had positive effects on farmers’ acceptance while dependency ratio factor had a negative effect on accepting any kind of alternation in crop cultivation. Since water scarcity is one of the most important factors influencing the acceptance level of crop replacement, all of the strategies designed for dealingwith water crisis should aim for the optimal management of groundwater aquifers. it is hoped that in the future, the Dashtkhas Village will become a prototype model for transforming crops, for other parts of the province of Kerman, which are facing the problem of dehydration in the development of their agricultural industry.
Other subject about saffron
Mohammad Hossein Abbaspour-Fard; Hossein Yousefzadeh; Amin Azhari; Mohammad Ali Ebrahimi-Nik; Moein Haddadi Moghaddam
Abstract
Agriculture is an occupation in which the workers are prone to health problems, particularly musculoskeletal disorders. This job is one of the most strenous and most dangerous work activities with approximately 40% of the engaged population living in the developing countries. Iran is the world's largest ...
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Agriculture is an occupation in which the workers are prone to health problems, particularly musculoskeletal disorders. This job is one of the most strenous and most dangerous work activities with approximately 40% of the engaged population living in the developing countries. Iran is the world's largest producer of saffron (about 94% of the world production). Labour has the highest impact on the production of this crop. In this research, a kind of trolley is introduced in order to reduce the mechanical damages on the body of labors during saffron harvesting, and then the results are compared with traditional harvesting methods. In the experiments, the force and strength percent capability of 20 workers as saffron harvesters is evaluated using the 3DSSPP software. Two methods of saffron harvesting namely the traditional method with two common postures (half sitting and bowing) and harvesting while sitting on the trolley are considered. The different postures for the traditional harvesting methods and harvesting with the trolley were simulated and imported to the software. It was found that the most harm on the farmers occurs in their knees with half sitting. Evaluation of harvesting saffron with trolley showed that it results in the exertion of the least damage to farmers. However, harvesting with trolley exserts the most pressure on the back. However, the pressure is very little compared to half sitting and bowing postures. Hence this simple device is recommended for harvesting saffron.
Other subject about saffron
Razieh Jamaati Ardakani
Abstract
Job security and improving the quality of work life are among the factors that can affect the job satisfaction of saffron workers and increase their productivity. The present study aims to analyze the social psychological effects (job security and quality of work life) on increasing job satisfaction ...
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Job security and improving the quality of work life are among the factors that can affect the job satisfaction of saffron workers and increase their productivity. The present study aims to analyze the social psychological effects (job security and quality of work life) on increasing job satisfaction of saffron Farmers in Bafgh city, which is done using correlation analysis. The statistical population consists of all saffron Farmers in Bafgh city. Using Morgan table, a sample of 205 individuals is selected through simple random sampling and tested by job security, work life quality and job satisfaction questionnaires. Data are analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression. The results show that job security and quality of work life have a significant relationship with job satisfaction (p < .01). Also, job security and quality of work life significantly predict job satisfaction (p < .001). The results of the research indicate that these two variables (job security and quality of work life) are important variables for optimal job satisfaction among saffron farmers. Therefore, it is suggested that the relevant agricultural organizations try to create a safe, interesting and stimulating working environment to increase commitment, creativity and hard work. Keywords: job security, quality of work life, job satisfaction, saffron farmers.
Other subject about saffron
Fahime KHadempour; Abbas Khashei Siuki; Mohammad Ali Behdani
Abstract
Saffron as the most precise agricultural and pharmaceutical product of the world has a specific place in industrial and export products of Iran. Nowadays, Iran is the largest producer and exporter of saffron in world and up to 93.7% of production of this valuable commodity belongs to Iran. Despite the ...
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Saffron as the most precise agricultural and pharmaceutical product of the world has a specific place in industrial and export products of Iran. Nowadays, Iran is the largest producer and exporter of saffron in world and up to 93.7% of production of this valuable commodity belongs to Iran. Despite the antiquity of saffron cultivation and added value of this product compared to other current crops of Iran, fewer shares of new technologies are dedicated to saffron and its production is mainly based on indigenous knowledge.In thispaper, multiple models are employed to evaluate and develop the performance of KStar and LWL in order to get an estimate on production yield of saffron based on climate parameters. Thecalibration and evaluation of models are obtained from the statistics of crop yield and climate factors betweenyears 1988–2017. In order to evaluate the employed models, the following statistical criteria were used: Coefficient of Determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Nash- Sutcliffe (NSE). From among the proposed models, the KStar model is in the e-scenario with an R2 of 1.00, MAE and RMSE of 0.00 and NSE of 1.00, which has good accuracy in estimating production yield of the saffron plant. This precision of the KStar model has made it easy to estimate performance of saffron in different areas of the country based on the data available at different stations.
Economics and Marketing
Alireza Sargazi; Mahdiyeh Ghavidel
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is the impact of uncontrolled quality factors on the efficiency of saffron farms in the Qaen County. In this paper, we tried to study the impact of uncontrolled quality factors on the efficiency of saffron farms considering the importance of saffron in Qaen County. Information ...
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The purpose of this paper is the impact of uncontrolled quality factors on the efficiency of saffron farms in the Qaen County. In this paper, we tried to study the impact of uncontrolled quality factors on the efficiency of saffron farms considering the importance of saffron in Qaen County. Information and data is collected through completion of 173 questionnaires in years 2015-16. The results of the research show that the efficiency of the scale with the value of 0.82 represents the highest mean. Also, the technical efficiency with constant and constant returns to the scale of 0.62 and 0.50 showed that the sample farms in terms of technical efficiency with variable and constant efficiency versus the scale have a potential of 38% and 50% in the amount of inputs and can reduce the inputs used without decreasing the production of the product. Also, the performance values of the Bunker and Murray models (the model without considering the qualitative factors) did not show any difference compared with the new model (considering qualitative factors). Therefore, it seems that the role of activity scale does not appear only in the concepts of scale efficiency and type of return to scale, but it also has a relationship with technical efficiency. Thereby, doing complementary studies will focus on the activities of the scale.
Economics and Marketing
Amirhossein Tohidi; Mohammad Ghorbani; Alireza Karbasi; Ahmadreza Asgharpourmasouleh; Behrooz Hassani-Mahmooei
Abstract
The lack of a clear competitive strategy is one of the major problems of Iranian saffron companies to gain a competitive advantage in domestic and international markets. Therefore, the Picocrocin main purpose of this study is to rank the factors affecting competitive advantage in the domestic and international ...
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The lack of a clear competitive strategy is one of the major problems of Iranian saffron companies to gain a competitive advantage in domestic and international markets. Therefore, the Picocrocin main purpose of this study is to rank the factors affecting competitive advantage in the domestic and international markets of Iranian saffron. Therefore, the importance of marketing resources and competitive strategies for one of the major producers and suppliers of saffron is investigated in this study considering market position theory and resource-based view. A pairwise comparison-based questionnaire is used to collect opinions of experts in the company. Using the analytic hierarchy process method, the results of the study showed that the differentiation strategy has the most effect in gaining competitive advantage. The results also indicate that particular attention must be paid to managerial and customer relationship capabilities in executing the differentiation strategy. Accordingly, improving financial conditions and understanding customers' needs and requirements are among the approaches that lead to development of key company capabilities and gaining competitive advantage in saffron markets.
Economics and Marketing
Elnaz Nejatianpour; mohammad ghodoosi; javad hasanpour
Abstract
Agriculture is a unique sector because of its dependence on the climate and biological variables. Therefore, in agriculture it is vital to identify and evaluate risks to be sure that decisions made on the farm will bring positive results. Torbat-e-Heydarieh is the most important center in saffron cultivation ...
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Agriculture is a unique sector because of its dependence on the climate and biological variables. Therefore, in agriculture it is vital to identify and evaluate risks to be sure that decisions made on the farm will bring positive results. Torbat-e-Heydarieh is the most important center in saffron cultivation and production in Khorasan Razavi province and Iran. This city is famous for its Saffron lands. It has the first rank in the world for producing Saffron . So, in this paper, we employed risk profile analysis to saffron risk management. By using previous literatures, all of the risks of agricultural sector are identified and classified in nine categories. The information was collected from the university elite and Saffron union members. To design the risk profile, we used data from 67 saffron producers of Torbat Heydariyeh in 1395. For evaluating of losses related to each risk component, two indexes of frequency and severity of risk were calculated and based on that risk matrix were created. Results showed that the greatest area of risk is included all of the risk of pests, diseases and weeds (Different types of weeds, Micro pests (Fungi and bacteria), Macro pests( Mice, ant, insect, Grazing livestock)), economic risk (Brokers, market fluctuations, lack of liquidity of farmers), Climate risk (drought, frost and freeze) and damage risk (Reduce yield due to farm life).
Fatemeh Rastegaripour; malihe sheybani
Abstract
Climate change is one of the most serious environmental challenges and its long-term effects can have serious economic, social and environmental consequences. The agricultural sector is one of the vulnerable parts in terms of climate change. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the factors ...
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Climate change is one of the most serious environmental challenges and its long-term effects can have serious economic, social and environmental consequences. The agricultural sector is one of the vulnerable parts in terms of climate change. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the adaptation strategies by saffron farmers Torbat-e Heydarieh using stratified random sampling method and logit model and five-part questionnaire. Data were collected by completing 380 questionnaires from saffron farmers in Torbat-e Heydarieh in 2018. The descriptive results of the study showed that most saffron farmers believe in increasing temperature, reducing rainfall and the emergence of drought and frostbite. Reducing water supply, reducing yields of saffron, reducing economic efficiency, unemployment and migration are among the consequences of climate change in Torbat-e Heydarieh. Also, based on the results, 63% of saffron farmers are willing to use adaptation strategies. The results of the Logit model estimation show that the variables of agricultural experience, land size, access to credit, extention services, media exposure and education affect the likelihood of choosing adaptive strategies. However, the variables of mechanization level and side occupation did not have a significant effect on the likelihood of choosing compatibility strategies. Therefore, government policies should provide the bank with confidence in providing bank facilities to saffron farmers who provide saffron farmers with the ability and flexibility to manage water resources, soil and other inputs in response to climate change.
Economics and Marketing
Milad Aminizadeh; Hanane Aghasafari; Alireza Karbasi
Abstract
Theories of international trade have emphasized specialization of countries and have considered this as a prerequisite to gain profit from trade. Iran has experienced a variety of forms of export of saffron as one of its important and valuable products to destination markets, which has made specialization ...
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Theories of international trade have emphasized specialization of countries and have considered this as a prerequisite to gain profit from trade. Iran has experienced a variety of forms of export of saffron as one of its important and valuable products to destination markets, which has made specialization in these markets doubtful. Therefore, this research study seeks to find out whether export of Iranian saffron in the world market and destination markets is moving towards specialization or not? In order to achieve this objective, the revealed comparative advantage index and the specialization pattern were investigated in the period of 2001-2018. The research findings have three main results. First, Iran's saffron exports have been associated with a de-specialization in the world market, and Spain, as Iran's most important export competitor, is on the paths to export specialization. Second, Iran has been specialized in saffron exports for the period 2001-2009 and has experienced a de-specialization in the 2010-2018 period. Third, Iran has been on the path of increasing specialization in only 15 percent of the destination markets (China, India, Hong Kong and Germany), and has a de-specialization in other markets. Because specialization in the destination market goes beyond identifying the demographic components of that market, it is suggested that long-term contracts be concluded with customers to adopt and implement production and marketing policies by further adapting the production and export of Iranian saffron to the culture of consumer markets.
Agriculture
Anis Rezaei; Hassan Feizi; Rohollah Moradi
Abstract
In order to evaluate the effect of last irrigation cut-off time and various fertilizer resources on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) flower, an experiment was conducted in a split-plot arranged as a randomized complete block design with three replications and ...
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In order to evaluate the effect of last irrigation cut-off time and various fertilizer resources on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) flower, an experiment was conducted in a split-plot arranged as a randomized complete block design with three replications and 18 treatments in a four year research farm of Jihad ministry located in Lalezar village, Bardsir region, Kerman province, in 2015-2016. The experimental treatments were irrigation cut-off time (conventional time (5 May), 15 days before the conventional time (20 April) and 15 days after conventional time (20 May)) assigned to the main plot, and nutritional resources (cow manure 40 t ha-1, hen manure15 t.ha-1, vermicompost 10 t ha-1, humic acid 2 kg ha-1, and chemical fertilizer containing 200 kg ha-1 urea and 140 kg.ha-1 P and K) as subplot. The analysis of variance results showed that the effect of irrigation cut-off treatment was significant on all the quantitative traits, but the treatment had no significant effect on qualitative traits of flower. The results showed that the delay in irrigation cut-off led to a significant decrease in other traits. As, the highest number of flowers (41.10 in m-2), fresh (145.16 kg.ha-1) and dry (19.41 kg.ha-1) weight of flower, fresh (11.12 kg.ha-1) and dry (2.02 kg.ha-1) weight of stigma were found in the earlier irrigation cut-off treatment (before the conventional time). The effect of fertilizer resources on all the studied traits was significant except for the values of picrocrocin and safranal. In all the irrigation treatments, vermicompost and cow manure significantly produced higher flower number and stigma yield than other fertilizer treatments. Dry stigma yield in chemical fertilizer (1.91 kg.ha-1), hen manure (1. 57 kg.ha-1) and humic acid (1.42 kg.ha-1) was significantly higher than control (1.26 kg.ha-1). The highest (169.7 nm) and lowest (163.1 nm) amount of crocin were obtained in control and vermicompost treatments, respectively. In general, the results showed that irrigation cut-off in April with using vermicompost fertilizer had the best conditions for saffron cultivation in the Bardsir region of Kerman.
Anis Rezaei; Rohollah Moradi; Hassan Feizi
Abstract
In order to evaluate the effect of last irrigation cut-off time and various fertilizer resources on corm of saffron (Crocus sativus L.), an experiment was conducted in a split-plot arranged as a randomized complete block design with three replications and 18 treatments in a four year research farm of ...
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In order to evaluate the effect of last irrigation cut-off time and various fertilizer resources on corm of saffron (Crocus sativus L.), an experiment was conducted in a split-plot arranged as a randomized complete block design with three replications and 18 treatments in a four year research farm of Jihad ministry located in Lalezar village, Bardsir region, Kerman province, in 2015-2016. The experimental treatments were irrigation cut-off time (conventional time (5 May), 15 days before the conventional time (20 April) and 15 days after conventional time (20 May)) assigned to main plot, and nutritional resources (cow manure 40 t ha-1, hen manure15 t.ha-1, vermicompost 10 t.ha-1, humic acid 2 kg.ha-1, and chemical fertilizer containing 200 kg.ha-1 urea and 140 kg.ha-1 P and K) as subplot. The analysis of variance results showed that the effect of irrigation cut-off treatment was significant on corm fresh, dry weight and average weight (P≤0.05), but had no significant effect on the number of corm per area and number of buds per corm. The results showed that the delay in irrigation cut-off led to a significant decrease in traits. As such, the highest corm fresh (561.5 g.m-2) and dry (294.8 g.m-2) weight and average weight of the corm (4.9 gr) were found in earlier irrigation cut-off treatment (before the conventional time). The effect of fertilizer resources on all the studied traits was significant. All the fertilizer treatments with the exception of humic acid, resulted in a significant increase in corm weight compared to control treatment. Application of vermicompost led to the production of the highest number of corm in m-2 (137.1), the corm fresh weight (595.6 g.m-2), dry weight (341 g.m-2) and average weight (4.30 g). The highest number of buds in corm (3.83) was found in chemical fertilizer treatment. In general, the results showed that irrigation cut-off in April with the using vermicompost had the best conditions for producing saffron corm in the Bardsir region of Kerman.
Other subject about saffron
Mohammad Behzad Amiri; Yaser Esmaeilian
Abstract
In order to evaluation the response of saffron to different manure, biological and chemical fertilizers, an experiment was carried out as split-plot based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications in Research Farm of Gonabad Agriculture Jihad during 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 ...
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In order to evaluation the response of saffron to different manure, biological and chemical fertilizers, an experiment was carried out as split-plot based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications in Research Farm of Gonabad Agriculture Jihad during 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 growing seasons. Main factor was 60 t/ha manure, and no manure application, and sub factor concluded of control (no fertilizer use), nitroxin (5 L/ha), biophosphorus (3 L/ha), biosulphur (5 kg/ha), humic acid (10 kg/ha), and chemical fertilizer (150, 100, and 100 kg/ha urea, triple superphosphate, and potassium sulfate). Experiment results indicated that interaction effect of manure and biological and chemical fertilizers on fresh flower yield, fresh and dry stigma yield was significant. The highest fresh flower yield (181 kg/ha) achieved by biophosphorus along with application of 60 t/ha manure. Fresh stigma yield in chemical fertilizer under manure application treatment showed the highest increase (mean yield of 10405 g/ha). While, dry stigma yield due to biophosphorus application obtained the highest value (5351 g/ha). The effect of manure on corm traits was significant. Corm number per unit area and corm yield showed 19% increase in second year due to manure application than control. Among biological and chemical fertilizer treatments, the highest value of corm number (440 corm/m2) and corm yield (4401 kg/m2) was obtained due to biophosphorus application. Based on obtained results, combined application of recommend manure with biological fertilizers especially biophosphorus under climatic and edaphic conditions similar to this experiment area is recommended.
Agriculture
Mohhamad Reza Hrivandi; Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam; Surur Khorramdel; A. A. Moayedi
Abstract
In order to investigate the effect of spreading time and application rates of wheat straw as mulch on Saffron corm and flower yield, a field experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on randomized complete block design with three replications at Gonabad Agricultural and Natural Resources Research ...
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In order to investigate the effect of spreading time and application rates of wheat straw as mulch on Saffron corm and flower yield, a field experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on randomized complete block design with three replications at Gonabad Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station, Center for Research and Agricultural Education and Natural Resources of Khorasan Razavi in years 2015-16. The treatments were all combination of wheat straw in four levels (2, 4, 6 and 8 t.ha-1) and time of wheat straw spreading in three dates (22 June, 6 July and 23August). The results showed that the rate and time of straw application and their interaction had significant effect on all studied characteristics of saffron flower. Spreading of wheat straw at 22 June compared to 6 July and 23August had the highest significant effect on increasing flower number, fresh flower yield, dry stigma and style yield (up to 41.7, 16.9 and 50 percent, respectively). In addition, all studied criteria of saffron replacement corms were significantly affected by the time of wheat straw spreading, different levels of wheat straw application and their interactions. Among the studied treatments, the highest corm yield in terms of more than 8g (595.65 g) and total saffron replacement corms yield were obtained in applying 8 t.ha-1 wheat straw at 22 June (1163 g). Compared to the treatment of 2 tons per hectare, the remnants on the same date show an increase of 112.2 and 12.9 percent, respectively.
Agriculture
Shirin Ansaryan Mahabadi; Iraj Allah dadi; Majid Ghorbani Javid; Elias Soltani
Abstract
Salicylic acid as a plant hormone plays an important role in regulating growth and physiological processes in plant. In order to study the effects of salicylic acid hormone and mother corm weight on saffron flowering properties, an experiment was conducted as factorial based on a randomized complete ...
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Salicylic acid as a plant hormone plays an important role in regulating growth and physiological processes in plant. In order to study the effects of salicylic acid hormone and mother corm weight on saffron flowering properties, an experiment was conducted as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the saffron research field of College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran during 2016-2017. The first factor consist of salicylic acid in three levels (Normal, priming with 1 and 2 mM concentrations (and second factor was weight of corm in two level that consist of small corm (3-5 gr) and large corm (8-10 gr). The results showed that the effect of corm weight on fresh weight of flower, Length of flower, fresh weight of stigma, length of stigma, fresh weight of pistil, length of pistil and qualitative characteristics of stigma were significant. The amount of these traits was higher in terms of the use of large mother’s corms. The effect of corm weight on dry weight of stigma was not significant. Interaction between salicylic acid and corm weight on all traits was not significant but the results of mean comparisons showed that the highest amount of fresh weight of flower (99.5 kg/ha), dry weight of stigma (1.45 kg/ha) and lowest days to emergence was 47 days after planting that related to salicylic acid in 2 mM. More amount of picrocrocin as a saffron flavor was related to salicylic acid in 1 mM. Crocin percentage in the priming treatment with 2 mM salicylic acid was higher than the other two levels; amount of safranal was high at 1mM. Totally, results of this experiment indicated that planting large mother’s corms with salicylic acid led to improvement of some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of saffron stigma.
Agriculture
Ehsan Ollah Jalili; Farnaz Ganjabadi; davod habibi; alireza eivazi
Abstract
In order to increase the quality and yield of saffron, an experiment was conducted in the Alborz province, (Eshtehard), in the year 2016-2017 through the interaction of nitroxin biological fertilizer and irrigation management. The experiment was conducted as split plot in randomized complete block design ...
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In order to increase the quality and yield of saffron, an experiment was conducted in the Alborz province, (Eshtehard), in the year 2016-2017 through the interaction of nitroxin biological fertilizer and irrigation management. The experiment was conducted as split plot in randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The experimental factors included irrigation method (Surface drip Irrigation, Subsurface drip Irrigation (15 cm depth) and Irrigation is Common (conventional area) in the main plot) and biological fertilizer of nitroxin (no fertilizer (control), 2, 4 and 6 lit.ha-1 in the Subplot). The results of this study showed that simple and interaction effects of biological fertilizer application of nitroxin and irrigation management were significant in all measured traits. In order to use optimal water resources, diamond irrigation method (Subsurface drip Irrigation) can be used to reduce irrigation losses and achieve high yield in saffron production. The effects of irrigation management of Subsurface drip Irrigation diameters with biological fertilizer of nitroxin 4 lit.ha-1 were superior to other treatments, so that the highest yield of saffron stigma was observed in this treatment with 5.8 kg.ha-1.
Agriculture
Ffatemeh Moallem Banhangi; Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam; Ghorban Ali Asadi; Surur Khorramdel
Abstract
In order to study the effect of different amounts of corms and planting depths of corms on flower and corm yield of saffron, an experiment was conducted in a factorial layout based on complete randomized block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, ...
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In order to study the effect of different amounts of corms and planting depths of corms on flower and corm yield of saffron, an experiment was conducted in a factorial layout based on complete randomized block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran during 2015- 2016 growing seasons. The experimental treatments were all combination of four quantity of corms (7, 8, 9 and 10 t/ha) and three planting depth (10, 15 and 20 cm). The results showed that different quantity and planting depth of saffron corms had significant effects on the most of the studied criteria. The results revealed that flower yield, stigma dry weight, number of flowers and replacement corms per square meter increased by increasing the amount of corm by 9 t/ha and reduced planting depth by 10 cm. The maximum replacement corms yield was obtained in 8 t/ha corm treatment which was 33.25 percent higher than 7 t/ha and 15.99 percent was higher than 10 t/ha corm treatments. The maximum and minimum replacement corms yield were shown in 10 and 20 cm planting depth, respectively. The higher number of replacement corms (173 corm in m2) were obtained in 10 t/ha corms, Therefore, increasing the amount of corms from 7 to 10 t/ha will increase the number of replacement corms by 101 percent while there were no significant differences between the rests of treatments. According to the low yield of saffron in the first year, it seems increasing the amount of corm till the optimum range and reducing the planting depths of corms will increase saffron flowers yield in the first year and lead to produce bigger replacement corms for next years. Hence, optimum amount of corm and planting depths will increase farmers’ income in the first year.
Biotechnology and genetics
Ghasem Najari; Khoshnood Nourollahi
Abstract
Alternaria leaf spot caused by Alternaria alternata is one of the most important plant diseases in world. In order to determine genetic diversity, 50 samples were collected from saffron farms of different regions in Razavi Khorasan province (Kashmar, Torbatjam, Torbathaidaryeh, Mahvellat, Bardeskan) ...
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Alternaria leaf spot caused by Alternaria alternata is one of the most important plant diseases in world. In order to determine genetic diversity, 50 samples were collected from saffron farms of different regions in Razavi Khorasan province (Kashmar, Torbatjam, Torbathaidaryeh, Mahvellat, Bardeskan) and South Khorasan province (Qaen, Saraian, Brjand). A. alternata isolates were isolated with Potato Dextrose Agar media, Molecular test was carried out with a set of five pairs of SSR primers after purification and identification of isolates. A total of 22 alleles were produced by SSR primers with an average of 11.1 alleles in all populations. The highest amounts of alleles were related to locus Mavellat with 14 alleles and lowest of Saraian, Birjand and Qaen with 10 alleles. A Comparison of genetic diversity parameters in eight population showed that Torbatjam population has the highest genetic diversity but lower values were estimated for Qaenat. The highest and lowest genetic distance was detected between Qaen-Mahvellat (0.328) and Bardaskan-Mahvellat (0.054), respectively. Based on dendrogram of populations revealed two distinct groups, one group contained Qaen and the other Birjand, Mavellat, Saraian, Bardaskan, Kashmar, Torbatjam and Torbat hidaryeh. Analysis of molecular variance showed that 71 percent of the genetic diversity belongs to within populations and 29% is located among populations. There was the high genetic similarity between isolates from different regions. Results in this study will be useful in breeding for saffron resistant cultivars and developing necessary control measures.
Biotechnology and genetics
Maryam Vahedi; Seyed Alireza Salami; Majid Shokrpour; Hassan Rezadoost
Abstract
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) belonging to Iridaceae family as a source of apocarotenoids is one of the most valuable spices and medicinal plants in the world. Because of the large size and high complexity of saffron genome, its sequencing remains a challenge. The arrival of next-generation sequencing ...
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Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) belonging to Iridaceae family as a source of apocarotenoids is one of the most valuable spices and medicinal plants in the world. Because of the large size and high complexity of saffron genome, its sequencing remains a challenge. The arrival of next-generation sequencing technologies (NGS) has allowed the rapid and efficient development for RNA sequencing. De novo assembly of transcriptome from short-read RNA-Seq data provides a great resource for the study of species without a reference genome. De novo assembly of the transcriptome has some unique challenges, particularly in the case of plants, which possess a large amount of paralogs, orthologs, homoeologs and isoforms. In this research, we attempted to compare the performance of de novo assembly tools including BinPacker, Bridger, Oases-Velvet and Trinity through consideration of a quality metrics such as N50 length, the total number of contigs and alignment scores. The results of these analyses revealed that assembly using Bridger had a superior performance for saffron transcriptome, Oases suffered from relatively high chimera rates and redundancies which causes genes family with high similarity assembled into one transcript, Trinity performs worse than Bridger in the increase of false positives. Our comparison study will assist researchers in selecting a well-suited assembler and offer essential information for the improvement of existing assemblers.
Biotechnology and genetics
Mohammad Ali Behdani; Ali Izanloo
Abstract
Saffron is the most valuable spice in the world. It is genetically a monomorphic clone. However, differences in phenotype and quality have been reported. The most important agro-economically phenotypic variation is the appearance of flowers with more than three stigmas. The main objective of this study ...
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Saffron is the most valuable spice in the world. It is genetically a monomorphic clone. However, differences in phenotype and quality have been reported. The most important agro-economically phenotypic variation is the appearance of flowers with more than three stigmas. The main objective of this study was to study the genetic variability of saffron clones with more than 3 stigmas using SSR and ISSR molecular markers. In this research, saffron clones with more than three stigmas were collected along with the corm and the root from Saffron fields of Qaen and Sarayan, South Khorassan province, then transferred as a whole to the Biotechnology Laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture, the University of Birjand. The number of stigmas in each flower was counted. Genomic DNA was extracted according to the CTAB method from leaves of the flower with more than three stigmas. Flower with more than three stigmas was larger and had more petals than ordinary ones. The most frequent number of flowers with more than three stigmas was related to four and five stigmas with 38%. Six-spike samples with a frequency of 14% were observed. Among the collected samples, only one specimen with seven stigmas was observed. Of the 48 tested ISSR primers on the bulk of DNA, only 16 primers had amplified bands and selected. The results of agarose gel electrophoresis for ISSR primers amplified the bands ranged from 100 to 1000 bp. By examining the bands formed for ISSR primers, no significant polymorphism was observed between different clones of saffron. Therefore, based on this marker system, no sign of genetic diversity was observed between clones with different number of stigmas. Among the tested SSR markers, 10 primer pairs showed amplified band among the clones. The results of correlation analysis based on Spearman correlation coefficient showed that there was no statistically significant correlation between microsatellite marker alleles and number of stigmas.
Other subject about saffron
Sedigheh Kasali; Saeed Minaei; Mahdi Ayyari
Abstract
Iran is the largest producer of saffron and more than 90 percent of Iran's saffron is produced in Iran.Drying is one of the methods commonly used to increase the shelf life of medicinal plants and agricultural products. In this study, drying process of saffron petals with thin layer hot air dryer at ...
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Iran is the largest producer of saffron and more than 90 percent of Iran's saffron is produced in Iran.Drying is one of the methods commonly used to increase the shelf life of medicinal plants and agricultural products. In this study, drying process of saffron petals with thin layer hot air dryer at five levels at 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 ° C and three air flow of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 m/s and their impacts of on colored parameter (amounts R, G and B) have been studied. By using vision machine system, color images of the saffron dried petals were taken, and analyzed using image processing algorithms, Features colored (RGB) were also obtained. In addition, the anthocyanin content, (using differential pH method) and L*a*b* characteristics were measured in order to determine the proper drying conditions of the samples. The data were analyzed using factorial experiment based on randomized complete design. The results showed that maximum RGB values were at the temperature range of 80 to 100°C, representing the greatest ratio and intensity of red, green and blue colors. Also in this temperature range, the highest anthocyanin content (482.21mg/l) and lowest color changes (ΔE) were obtained which was a relative desirability of this range for drying saffron petals.
Agriculture
Arash Dourandish; Mohammadreza Ramezani; Milad Aminizadeh
Abstract
Saffron is one of the most important agricultural and export products whose production is the main source of income in many rural areas in east of the country. However, the yield of saffron farms decreased by almost 36% during 1971-2015. The Gonabad county in the Khorasan Razavi province as one of the ...
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Saffron is one of the most important agricultural and export products whose production is the main source of income in many rural areas in east of the country. However, the yield of saffron farms decreased by almost 36% during 1971-2015. The Gonabad county in the Khorasan Razavi province as one of the largest saffron producers in Iran also faces this problem. Evidences suggest that the high use of chemical inputs, especially chemical fertilizers, can be considered as one of the main causes of yield decrease. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effective factors on use of chemical fertilizers with an emphasis on the role of attitude and awareness of saffron producers. In order to achieve the research objectives, 105 questionnaires were completed based on proportional random sampling and an ordered logit model was carried out. The results showed that two variables of farmers’ attitude towards sustainable agriculture and awareness about yield-reducing factors have negative and significant effects on the probability of chemical fertilizer use. While the variables of farmers’ income, age, education and agricultural insurance have positive and significant effect on the probability of chemical fertilizer use. Therefore, undertaking appropriate policies in order to boost farmers’ attitude towards sustainable agricultural practices and increase the awareness of farmers about the negative and long-term effects of excessive use of chemical fertilizers, encouraging trusted and experienced farmers to reduce the use of fertilizers and reconsidering the content of training courses have a decisive role in enhancing the pattern of chemical fertilizers use.
Agriculture
Mahdi Abbaszadeh; Amir Salari; HAMID ROHANI
Abstract
Identifying of optimal use of resources and in line with the production of any land is an important step in achieving sustainable development while preserving the ecological system. The purpose of this study is determination quality, quantity and economic suitability of Torbat Heydaryeh lands (Rokh Plain) ...
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Identifying of optimal use of resources and in line with the production of any land is an important step in achieving sustainable development while preserving the ecological system. The purpose of this study is determination quality, quantity and economic suitability of Torbat Heydaryeh lands (Rokh Plain) in Khorasan Razavi for wheat (Triticum Aestivum) and saffron (Crocus Sativus) cultivation. For this purpose, climate condition and soil properties in the study area compare with requirements of wheat and saffron, so qualitative suitability were determined by using FAO method and GIS according to parametric method of Kalogirou. Quantitative and economic evaluation done according to actual yield in each agricultural unit and gross profit per unit area, respectively. Results showed that in this area despite, climate index and yield potential is high but because of soil properties restriction, qualitative suitability is moderate and this restriction is higher for saffron. The results showed that quantitative suitability class is equal or higher than qualitative suitability especially for saffron. Economics results showed that saffron is higher profitable than wheat but its enlargement restricted because of soil limitation, so that its cultivation isn’t recommended. Perform corrective actions and improvement of soil properties in most units can increase production efficiency.
