Economics and Marketing
Abolfazl Masoomzadeh Zavareh; Abolghasem Ebrahimi; Jafar Shamsi; Khalil Dehnavi
Abstract
Despite the extensive production and export of saffron in Iran, we have no strong and credible brand of Iranian saffron in global market. In other words, the absence of strong brands in the global market has made almost no name of Iran in these markets. Thus, it is useful to aware of the importance of ...
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Despite the extensive production and export of saffron in Iran, we have no strong and credible brand of Iranian saffron in global market. In other words, the absence of strong brands in the global market has made almost no name of Iran in these markets. Thus, it is useful to aware of the importance of branding for export crops such as saffron and exploring the solutions of leading brands using in the global market. The present study with regard to theoretical foundations, comparative studies and by using the opinions of saffron industry experts via in-depth interview and questionnaire, have addressed the challenges facing the industry, and Using SWOT matrix for formulating branding strategies and operational plans. The results of the study show that branding in the industry is so weak and has a lot of weaknesses and threats. Therefore, to develop branding in the industry, four main strategy categories were presented. By using these strategies we can guarantee the improvement in the industry.
Agriculture
Hossein Khozeymehnezhad; Homayoun Farhangfar; Mohammad Ali Behdani; Mojtaba Hassanpour
Abstract
In spite of lots of work performed by saffron farmers in the Southern Khorasan province, a desirable yield has not been obtained which is partly attributed to the lack of scientific knowledge. This investigation is aimed to assess the indigenous knowledge of saffron farmers on the issues related to irrigation, ...
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In spite of lots of work performed by saffron farmers in the Southern Khorasan province, a desirable yield has not been obtained which is partly attributed to the lack of scientific knowledge. This investigation is aimed to assess the indigenous knowledge of saffron farmers on the issues related to irrigation, and also to examine their strengths and weaknesses for taking effective steps to increase crop productivity. A questionnaire (researcher made) including 11 questions about the issues related to irrigation and 14 questions on general information and extensional items were randomly distributed to 235 subjects in the population of farmers of the Southern Khorasan province. The dependent variable was the score of the subjects for the correct answers. Statistical comparison between the levels of each of the independent variables (with significant effect) was undertaken by Tukey-Kramer test using the SAS software. The findings revealed that the groups of subjects participating in the extension courses who were either natives in the South Khorasan province, or had insuring their products answered a greater number of questions correctly with a significant level of 1%. However, the subjects living in the villages had more correct answers at a significance level of 5%. Overall, the results suggest that short-term and long-term programming are needed for the region's farmers to gain appropriate scientific knowledge about saffron planting.
Agriculture
Hossein Zare Hosseini; Reza Ghorbani; Mohammad Hassan Rashed Mohassel; Hossein Rahimi
Abstract
In order to study and compare chemical and non-chemical methods of weed management in saffron (Crocus sativus) fields, two field experiments were carried out in a randomized completely block design with three replications at Research Field Station of Gonabad during 2009 to 2011. Treatments included cover ...
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In order to study and compare chemical and non-chemical methods of weed management in saffron (Crocus sativus) fields, two field experiments were carried out in a randomized completely block design with three replications at Research Field Station of Gonabad during 2009 to 2011. Treatments included cover crops of barely, Mushroom bed mulch, herbicides of haloxyfop R methyl ester (EC10%), iodosulfuron methyl sodium+mesosulfuron. methyl + mefenpyr. diethy (WG6%) l, hand weeding (DF75%) and control. For determining the ability of treatments for weed control, dry matter of weed, leaf dry weight of saffron, stigma and saffron flower yields were determined. Results showed that dominant weed species were mouse barely (Hordeum murinum), wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) Hoary cress (Cardaria draba), and yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Herbicides of iodosulfuron methyl sodium + mesosulfuron methyl + mefen pyr. Diethy (WG6%) destroyed grasses and broadleaf, but it destroyed saffron plant too. Haloxyfop. R methyl ester damaged grasses but decreased stigma yield and leaf of saffron. Applied mulch was not be able to control the weeds, however, it increased saffron stigma yield. Cover crops of barley significantly decreased weed dry matter weights. Barley caused least weeds dry matter weight similar to hand weeding. In conclusion, the treatments of cover crops showed the best performances in weed control and saffron yield comparing to other studied weed management methods.
Economics and Marketing
Jalil Farzadmehr; Kazem Tabaki Bajestani
Abstract
Saffron is a strategic product. It is necessary to manage the programming principles in order to estimate acreage and production. Therefore, the speed and accuracy of such assessments is very important. Using remote sensing techniques for providing updated data and high functionality as well as the possibility ...
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Saffron is a strategic product. It is necessary to manage the programming principles in order to estimate acreage and production. Therefore, the speed and accuracy of such assessments is very important. Using remote sensing techniques for providing updated data and high functionality as well as the possibility of studying a wide range of image analyses with an acceptable precision can help in the assessment. In the present research, the area under cultivation of saffron in the city of Torbat Heydarieh was evaluated using Landsat 8 sensor data. After applying the primary processing on satellite images with using conventional techniques, satellite imagery processing including false color band combination, principal component analysis, vegetation index (NDVI, SAVI, EVI, DVI, RVI and TSAVI) and supervised classification of land under saffron cultivation were identified. Map production was done due to the fact that the earth was assessed via GPS in order to assess the classification. Kappa coefficient and overall accuracy were %88 and %98, respectively. The area under cultivation of saffron in this study was estimated to be 19503.4572 hectares. The results indicated that Landsat 8 satellite images have a high potential for rapid separation and identification of the area under cultivation of saffron in the region with relatively good accuracy and are appropriate tools to be used on a regional scale.
Pharmaceutical and Medical Science and Technology
ali Mohammadian; Hassan Ahmadvand; Reza Karamian; Reza Siahmansour; Ali Sepahvand; Shahram Omidvari
Abstract
Saffron is one of the most valuable food and medicine products that has a high economic importance in Iran and other countries. Harmful environmental factors prohibit the human body from collating the free radicals that are produced during breathing resulting in problems such as premature aging, atherosclerosis ...
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Saffron is one of the most valuable food and medicine products that has a high economic importance in Iran and other countries. Harmful environmental factors prohibit the human body from collating the free radicals that are produced during breathing resulting in problems such as premature aging, atherosclerosis and cancer. There has been only a few reported research studies on the antioxidant properties of Saffron petals in world. This research was carried out in order to survey the antioxidant compound that may be extracted from Saffron petals and indicate the total phenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) in the cultivated Saffron farms of the Lorestan province. After specifying the Saffron farms by the Random systematic method, the compound sampling was carried out (Saffron petals amount 2 kg). Then, the antioxidant activity, total amount of phenols and flavonoids in the extracts were measured by methods of DPPH, Folinciocalteau and Colorimetric assay, respectively. The results showed that the amount of IC50 was the lowest and highestin Noorabad and Vician farms with amounts of 1.66 and 156.4μg/ml, respectively by the Duncan test. The results of mean comparison showed that the total phenol content and total flavonoid content of 1098.8 mg Gallic acid/g extract and 41.39 mg cou/g extract, respectively that belonged to the Noorabad and the Chaghalvandi farms had the highest amounts among all of the saffron cultivation in the farms.
Processing, food industry and biochemistry
Seyed Mohammad Reza Naghibi Hoseini; Hossein Ali Akhlaghi Amiri; Ali Garmroudi Asil; Mahmoud Mohammadzadeh; Abbas Hemmati Kakhki
Abstract
Saffron petals are known as one of the richest sources of anthocyanin. Considering the significant production statistics of this plant and high consumption of anthocyanin as an authorized food color in Iran, its industrial extraction can be worthy to be considered. In this study, with an industrial approach ...
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Saffron petals are known as one of the richest sources of anthocyanin. Considering the significant production statistics of this plant and high consumption of anthocyanin as an authorized food color in Iran, its industrial extraction can be worthy to be considered. In this study, with an industrial approach (determination of parameters considering industrial extraction), conditions for extracting monomeric anthocyanin from saffron petals using a single solvent of citric acid have been investigated, for the first time. Among the reasons for this choice to replace other solvents studied in previous studies, we can mention the availability and allowability of this substance in the food industry. The variables of solvent to dry plant tissue ratio in the range of 10 to 60 ml/g, extraction temperature in the range of 25 to 35 °C, solvent concentration percentage in the range of 5 to 20 and extraction time of 2 to 120 minutes were considered for this experiment. After obtaining the most appropriate model to the laboratory data output, using the surface-response method, extraction conditions were optimized in order to achieve the highest amount of extracted anthocyanin. According to the obtained coefficients, ratio of solvent to dry petals was recognized as the most significant extraction variable. Solvent ratio to dry petals of 10 ml/g, solvent concentration percentage of 5.04, extraction temperature of 25 °C and extraction time of 179.555 minutes were determined as the optimal extraction conditions. Extraction time of up to 180 minutes was considered to optimize. Model predicted the amount of extracted anthocyanin in the optimal conditions was 688.944 mg/l.
Agriculture
Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam; Alireza Koocheki; Abdollah Molafilabi; S. Mohammad Seyyedi
Abstract
In order to investigate the effects of different levels of applied wheat straw as mulch in different dates on flower characteristics and corms behavior of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in the second year, a field experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with ...
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In order to investigate the effects of different levels of applied wheat straw as mulch in different dates on flower characteristics and corms behavior of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in the second year, a field experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran in years of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The experimental treatments were all combination of different levels of wheat straw as mulch (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 t. ha-1) based on surface applied method in three different dates (June, August and October). The results showed that the applied wheat straw as mulch in different dates had significant effects on flower characteristics of saffron (flower number, fresh and dried flower and stigma+ style yields). Based on these results, applied wheat straw as mulch in October had highest effects on increasing flower number, fresh and dried flower yields (by 46, 61 and 65%, respectively). In addition, applied wheat straw as mulch had significant effects on number and yield of replacement corms. The applied straw as mulch in October increased yield of replacement corms with 12 g or higher weight and total corm yield of saffron by 104 and 103 %, respectively, as compared to control treatment.
Agriculture
Seid Mohammad Alavi Siney; Ahmad Ahmadpour Jolgeh; Mohammad Behroozeh; Majid Soltani
Abstract
In order to investigate planting date and corm weight Effects on flower characters and saffron(Crocus sativus L.) yield, an experiment as a factorial was carried out based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications in research station of South Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources ...
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In order to investigate planting date and corm weight Effects on flower characters and saffron(Crocus sativus L.) yield, an experiment as a factorial was carried out based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications in research station of South Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center at Sfadagheh during 2017-2018 growing season Two factors, planting date (Jun, August and September) and corm size (6-8, 8-10, 10-12 and >12g) were evaluated in this experiment. Related traits with flower and Stigma and cormwere measured during growing season. Results showed that planting date have significant effect on all of traits except of dry weight of stigma. Also, the effects of corm weight and interaction of planting date×corm weight were significant on all of traits. So, the highest number of flower and the stigma yield were observed in the planting date of June and the corm weight more than 12 g. Therefore, for achieving high saffron yield, it is recommended planting date of June and the use of corms with more than12 g. Investigating the characteristics of the doughtercorms in the first year of the experiment showed that all studied traits were influenced by the planting date and the effect of the corm weight was not significant on the characteristics of the number of doughter corm over 6 g, the average weight of the doughter corm more and less than 6 g. According to the results of the traits related to the doughter corm, it can be anticipated that in the following year there is no difference in yield and its components among the different levels of maternal corm. Results in the second year showed that yield and yield components were only affected by the planting date and the corm weight had the same effect on them. The planting date of June 5th was the highest in the second year. According to the results and low price of saffron in June, in Southern Kerman foothill areas, cultivation of saffron should be done on June 5th. Since in the first year of the experiment, the yield don't achieved even from great mothernal corm, and given the fact that the mother corms of different weights in the second year have the same role in determining the stigma yield, in order to reduce the production costs, the 6 -8 g recommended for cultivation.
Biotechnology and genetics
Mehdi Hassanlou; Mohammad Reza Azimi Moghaddam; Seyed Alireza Salami; Ehsan Mohsenifard
Abstract
Agricultural saffron Crocus sativus L. is a medicinal, widely used and expensive plant and has important effective substances: crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, which gives it the characteristics of color, taste and smell. The search for new sources producing the aforementioned apocarotenoids makes the ...
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Agricultural saffron Crocus sativus L. is a medicinal, widely used and expensive plant and has important effective substances: crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, which gives it the characteristics of color, taste and smell. The search for new sources producing the aforementioned apocarotenoids makes the importance of research on it more obvious day by day. Since the country of Iran has diploid wild species with characteristics close to the sterile triploid cultivated species, in the present research, two species of Caspian saffron C. caspius and Zeiba C. Speciosus, along with the cultivated species, were investigated and 6 genes active in the production of the three mentioned effective substances , CCD2, ALDH, PSY, LCY, BCH, UGT74 (and a housekeeping gene TUB as an internal control gene with constant expression in all tissues) in two flower tissues, stigma and perianth (tepal) and in five stages (time) of flowering including: The stages of bud formation (immature bud), bud ready to bloom, newly opened flower, mature flower and old flower were investigated. Using of Real Time PCR, the expression ratio (fold change) to the internal control gene (with logarithm based on 2) was investigated in different genes and different and sometimes similar expression patterns were observed with the gene expression in the cultivated species in both the stigma and stigma tissues. Based on the results obtained in this study and the increase or decrease in the expression of some genes involved in the pathways of apocarotenoids production, at the same time as the growth of the stages from the bud to the senescence stage of the flower, it is expected from the three aforementioned substances or from other apocarotenoids in the metabolom of flowers, cases have been found in the non-triploid species and create approaches for the commercial use of Iranian wild saffron species and pave the way for its commercialization.
Biotechnology and genetics
Tofigh Taherkhani; Rasool Asghari Zakaria; Mansoor Omidi; Nasser Zare; mahboubeh taherkhani
Abstract
Saffron (Crocus sativus) as an important medicinal and economical plant of Iran is rich in flavor, aroma and color, along with medicinal properties in addition to nutritional benefits. The effect of chitosan on Crocin and Safranal amounts as two important medicinal components and expression of their ...
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Saffron (Crocus sativus) as an important medicinal and economical plant of Iran is rich in flavor, aroma and color, along with medicinal properties in addition to nutritional benefits. The effect of chitosan on Crocin and Safranal amounts as two important medicinal components and expression of their controlling genes in suspension culture of saffron was subjected as the aim of this study. For this purpose, saffron bulbs were cultured in ½ MS medium being treated with 100 and 150 mg/l of chitosan under cell suspension medium and callus optimal growth conditions. Samples were taken at 24 and 72 hours after the application of treatment in 3 replications. Measurement of secondary metabolites was done with HPLC and analysis of genes’ expression was performed with real-time PCR. The results showed that after the use of 100 and 150 mg/l of chitosan and after 24 and 72 hours, the two CsLYC and CsGT-2 genes expression significantly increased. Also, the results showed that Safranal and Crocin levels by the use of chitosan are significantly different at both harvesting times, so that 150 mg/l at harvest time of 72 hours after application of the treatment had the highest amount of Crocin and Safranal. Usage of chitosan as a bio-stimulant in the growth of medicinal and economic plants of saffron increased the amount of valuable secondary metabolites in the cell suspension culture of the plant.
Other subject about saffron
Toktam Mohtashami; Alireza Karbasi; Bahareh Zandi Dareh Gharibi
Abstract
The aim of this study is to perform an economic investigation of the use of various inputs in saffron production and to measure the efficiency of its production in small and large farms of the Khorasan Razavi province. The required data was collected from 170 questionnaires completed by saffron producers ...
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The aim of this study is to perform an economic investigation of the use of various inputs in saffron production and to measure the efficiency of its production in small and large farms of the Khorasan Razavi province. The required data was collected from 170 questionnaires completed by saffron producers in the Torbat-e Heydarieh and Zaveh counties in the year 2014. In order to ensure the accuracy of selected production function, the performance of Cobb Douglas, Transcendental and Translog functional forms were tested. The results suggest that Translog functional form is the most appropriate form for expression of production technology of this product. The estimated elasticities based on this production function show that large land owners perform better in the input usage. Moreover, the comparison of technical efficiency between the two groups of farms indicates that 49 percent of small farms and 18 percent of large farms work at inefficient levels of production. The large difference between the lowest and highest technical efficiency in large farms group shows that there is an option to increase technical efficiency in these fields through the use of good management practices.
Agriculture
Azim Shirdeli; Abolfazl Tavassoli
Abstract
The predicted models for crops yield are developing rapidly by the creation of new statistical techniques and neural networks. For this purpose, a research was carried out in the Torbat-e-Heydarieh region for predicting yield and water use efficiency of saffron by using an artificial neural network model. ...
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The predicted models for crops yield are developing rapidly by the creation of new statistical techniques and neural networks. For this purpose, a research was carried out in the Torbat-e-Heydarieh region for predicting yield and water use efficiency of saffron by using an artificial neural network model. The model was calibrated and validated by using crop yield and climate parameters data during 2009-2010. The models were evaluated by using indices of correlation coefficient (R2), root mean squares error normalized (RMSEn), and mean squares error (MSE). The results showed that the suggested neural network (model No. 9) with having 2 hidden layers, 8 neurons, and R2= 0.97 (for saffron yield); and 1 hidden layer, 7 neurons, and R2= 0.90 (for water use efficiency) had a high accommodation with these two factors. Also, according to the indices RMSEn and MSE, model No. 9 simulated the yield and WUE of saffron with a high accuracy, such that RMSEn and MSE for yield in this model obtained were 2.78% and 0.0041, respectively; and for WUE they were calculated to be 5.41% and 0.0073, respectively. Also, the results of sensitivity analysis indicated that irrigation is the most important parameter for predicting yield and WUE, and after that is precipitation and solar radiation. Generally, use of the suggested neural network in this research can improve saffron cultivation in the Torbat-e-Heydarieh region.
Agriculture
Seyed Mustafa Sadeghi; Golnoosh Dehnadi-Moghaddam; Hamidreza Dooroodian
Abstract
In order to study the best time, depth, and corm sowing distance of saffron cultivation in Guilan Province, a factorial experiment was carried out based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Langeroud, Guilan Province, during growing season of 2011-2012. Studies factors included ...
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In order to study the best time, depth, and corm sowing distance of saffron cultivation in Guilan Province, a factorial experiment was carried out based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Langeroud, Guilan Province, during growing season of 2011-2012. Studies factors included sowing date (A) (a1: 18th July, a2: 18th August, and a3: 18th September), sowing depth (B) (b1:5 and b2: 10 cm), and distance between corms (C) (c1:5 and c2: 10 cm). Yield of dry stigma, wet weight of petal, dry weight of leaf, length of stigmas, total length, number of flowers and number of days from sowing to flowering of saffron were recorded. The results showed that sowing date had significant (at a significance level of 1%) impacts on the weight of style and stigma, wet weight of flower, number of flower, and number of days from sowing to flowering of saffron. Sowing depth had no significant effect on the weight of style and stigma of saffron. On the other hand, the interaction between sowing date and sowing depth was significant on dry weight of leaf, weight of style and stigma, and number of flower per square meter of saffron. The interaction between sowing depth and corm distance was significant on dry weight of leaf. The highest yield of style and stigma and number of flowers of saffron were recorded at sowing date of 18th September based on 5 cm corm distance, while the lowest yield was for sowing date of 15th July and 10 cm corm distance. Density of 5 × 25 m2 produced the maximum yield of style weight, stigma weight, and dry weight of leaf. The highest leaf dry weight was observed in interaction of sowing depth and corm distance (sowing depth of 5 cm and corm distance of 5 cm) and interaction of sowing date and corm distance (sowing in July and corm distance of 5 cm). On the other hand, the lowest dry weight of leaf was produced in interaction of sowing depth and corm distance (sowing depth of 5 cm and corm distance of 10 cm) and interaction of sowing date and corm distance (sowing in July and corm distance of5 cm).
Economics and Marketing
somayeh shirzadi laskookalayeh; mahmoud sabuhi sabuni; Ahmad Ali Keikha; Kamran Davari
Abstract
The reduction in water resources, increased occurrence of droughts and heavy damages to the country make the more efficient use of this resource very important. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of various policies of reduction of water consumption and the effect of any increase in the ...
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The reduction in water resources, increased occurrence of droughts and heavy damages to the country make the more efficient use of this resource very important. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of various policies of reduction of water consumption and the effect of any increase in the price of each cubic meter of water on saffron cultivation pattern. The data for the research was obtained by interviews done with 100 farmers in agricultural areas of the Rokh and Naishabur plain in 2012. The sample farms were selected using random sampling, the study was conducted and the models were calculated for both areas. The results of positive mathematical programming model showed that by 20 percent savings in water consumption in the Rokh Plain and 30% in the Naishabur plain, we can achieve cultivating a pattern similar to those which have achieved the previous values at the farm level for saffron. Also, by reducing the amount of water, the economic value of water increased. Doubling the price per cubic meter of water used in crop cultivation and water consumption does not lead to lower profit. Therefore, it is recommended to save water resources. In addition, precise time detection irrigation and the right to saffron can have negative effects when excessive irrigation is done and reduce the performance of this product. Effective and optimal water management policies to reduce the amount of available water is also planned to be presented to the policy makers.
Biotechnology and genetics
ali darvishian; Farhad Nazarian-Firouzabadi; Mostafa Darvishnia; Ahmad Ismaili
Abstract
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most valuable spice in the world. Due to the lack of genomic information, saffron breeding has encountered many problems. To this end, generating and collecting genetic data using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques is crucial for saffron traditional and molecular ...
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Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most valuable spice in the world. Due to the lack of genomic information, saffron breeding has encountered many problems. To this end, generating and collecting genetic data using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques is crucial for saffron traditional and molecular breeding programs. Molecular markers, especially powerful co-dominance markers such as simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers play an important role in breeding projects. In the present study for the first time, SSR markers related to genes associated with F. oxysporum disease of corms were identified following a RNA-Seq based transcriptomic approach. To this end, total RNA was extracted from mature corms and RNA-Seq was performed based on the Novaseq6000 platform. The De-novo assembly was performed with Trinity software and the MISA search tool was used to identify SSRs. Based on the results of this study, 357028 transcripts were identified. A total of 70060 transcripts were identified to contain SSR sequences. BLAST algorithm analysis revealed that the highest similarity between saffron SSRs was found with that of rice and Arabidopsis. Among the identified unigenes, 18846, 23988 and 10969 genes were identified in UNIPROT, Nr and GO databases, respectively, in which 10375 unigenes were common to all databases. Due to the high priority of saffron in Iran as a strategic crop plant, any genetic information, including mining SSRs, is of great importance in studying genetic diversity, constructing genetic maps, linkage and QTLs analysis in saffron future breeding programs.
Other subject about saffron
Seyed Mohsen Mousavi; Maryam Khoshkam; Javad Feizi
Abstract
Saffron is a plant from Crocus Sativus species which is one of the most valuable indigenous herbs in Iran and is known as the most expensive spice and red gold. Saffron stigma consists of three major constituents including crocin (water soluble caretenoid pigments), picocrocin (bitter glycoside tasting) ...
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Saffron is a plant from Crocus Sativus species which is one of the most valuable indigenous herbs in Iran and is known as the most expensive spice and red gold. Saffron stigma consists of three major constituents including crocin (water soluble caretenoid pigments), picocrocin (bitter glycoside tasting) and safranal (the major volatile constituents in saffron aroma). The aim of this study was determination and comparison of existed metabolites in different types of saffron based on their geographical origins using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy techniques (GC-MS) and 13 volatile metabolites were determined and compared in different saffron samples from seven different regions of Khorasan Razavi province. These regions were Taybad, Neyshabour, torbate heydarieh, torbate jam, Zaveh and Kashmar.The results from statistical analysis (analysis of variance ANOVA followed by Duncan test) show that the level of metabolites were different in different regions and this can be the main reason of their discrimination against each other. These volatile metabolites were safranal, Megastigma-4,6(Z),8(Z)-triene, α-Guaiene, icosane and vitamine E. The results of this study show that in spite of similarities of constituents of these saffron samples, there are significant differences between the levels of metabolites in these regions although these region are close to each other. These differences show that these saffron can be applied in different purposes including pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and health industries depending on their origin. Saffron of Torbat-e-jam is proper for food industries since it is rich in aroma and Taibad is proper for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and health industries. The quality of Kashmar saffron is worse than other regions.
Agriculture
Roshanak Shahriary; Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam; Mohsen Jahan; Reza Khorasani
Abstract
The current study investigates the effects of different levels of nutrient and Fe foliar application on stigma and flower yield of saffron. A field experiment was conducted as a factorial layout based on complete randomized block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, the ...
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The current study investigates the effects of different levels of nutrient and Fe foliar application on stigma and flower yield of saffron. A field experiment was conducted as a factorial layout based on complete randomized block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran in 2012-2014. The experimental factors included chemical fertilizer (NPK) at three levels (0-0-0, 30-15-30, 60-30-60 kg.ha-1), vermicompost at two levels (0, 4 t.ha-1), humic acid at two levels (0, 5 kg.ha-1) and two levels of Fe foliar spraying concentration (0, 0.08 µmol). The number of flower, fresh and dry weight of stigma and flower yield were determined for two years. The results of analysis of variance revealed that the studied experimental factors had a significant effect on quantitative traits of saffron flowers and stigma. There was a significant difference between the chemical fertilizer levels on flower number and stigma dry weight. The highest flower number (165.m-2) and stigma dry weight (1.16 g.m-2) were obtained in the NPK fertilizer (60-30-60) treatment. Moreover, the interaction between chemical fertilizer and other factors was significant and led to the improvement of the number of flowers and stigma dry weight per unit of area. Stigma dry weight increased in vermicompost, humic acid and Fe foliar application compared with control (3.3 1.3 and 2.7 percent, respectively). However, two-way interaction of factors did not affect the number of flower.m-2. In addition, the three-way interaction of humic acid, vermicompost and chemical fertilizer significantly affected stigma dry weight.m-2. Four-way interaction of all studied factors including year, vermicompost, chemical fertilizer and Fe foliar spraying were significant on flower dry weight and stigma fresh and dry weight per unit area when compared with control (p≤0.05). Quantitative traits of flower and stigma in the second year improved in comparison with the first year. The interaction effects between year and chemical fertilizer was significant on the traits that were studied.
Biotechnology and genetics
Mehdi Hassanlou; Mohammad Reza Azimi Moghaddam; Seyed Alireza Salamii; Ehsan Mohsenifard
Abstract
Cultivated saffron (Crocus sativus L.) boasts remarkable commercial value due to its possessing three pivotal metabolites: crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal. The significance of obtaining these metabolites, particularly crocin, from sources other than cultivated saffron has grown substantially, primarily ...
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Cultivated saffron (Crocus sativus L.) boasts remarkable commercial value due to its possessing three pivotal metabolites: crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal. The significance of obtaining these metabolites, particularly crocin, from sources other than cultivated saffron has grown substantially, primarily driven by native wild saffron species in Iran. In this ongoing study, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) has been harnessed as a potent analytical tool for the identification of these metabolites in two wild saffron species, Khazar (C. caspius) and Ziba (C. specious), alongside the cultivated variety. Furthermore, bioinformatics tools have been employed to extract nucleotide and protein sequences, thereby facilitating the prediction of protein structures for genes integral to the biosynthesis process of these notable apocarotenoids in an in-silico manner. The research findings have showcased the presence of crocin across all analyzed samples, albeit in varying quantities. Specifically, the crocin content in the cultivated saffron, Ziba, and Khazar species accounted for 26.76%, 2.8%, and 0.74% of dry weight matter, respectively. However, the amount of picrocrocin and safranal metabolites in cultivated species was 8.4 and 0.03 percent, respectively, but there were no detectable amounts of these apocarotenoids in the studied wild species. , The existence of crocin in wild species has made hope for conducting research and searching in wild species for these effective substances and implementing breeding programs or genetic manipulation for the mentioned species.
Agriculture
Seyyedeh Maliheh Mirhashemi; Mohammad Bannayan; Ahmad Nezami; Mahdi Nassiri Mahallati
Abstract
Leaf area index, light extinction coefficient and radiation use efficiency are important eco-physiological characteristics for realization of crops growth, development and radiation absorption. In order to determine the leaf area index (LAI), light extinction coefficient (K) and radiation use efficiency ...
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Leaf area index, light extinction coefficient and radiation use efficiency are important eco-physiological characteristics for realization of crops growth, development and radiation absorption. In order to determine the leaf area index (LAI), light extinction coefficient (K) and radiation use efficiency (RUE) of saffron during the first and second growing seasons, four experiments were started in 2011 and ended in 2014, at the Research Farm of the Agriculture Faculty, the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. Saffron corms with weights between 13 to15 g and density of 50 plant.m2 were cultivated in 2011 and 2012. In all experimental years during the growing season, crop sampling was taken for required measurements including the leaf area index and shoot dry weight of saffron once every 14 days. The results showed that by increasing the age of saffron from 1 year to two years, the maximum LAI of saffron increased from 0.33 to 1.81, and light extinction coefficient decreased from 1.20 to 0.54. The increasing trend of LAI was coincident with fraction of absorbed radiation for all four years of the experiment. In the first and the second growing seasons, the amount of fraction of absorbed radiation gradually increased with increasing LAI and at 1083 and 1034 GDD reached its maximum value, respectively. In saffron farms when the plant was one year old and two years old, the mean value of RUE was 0.68 and 1.73 g.MJ-1 PAR, respectively. These results indicate that by increasing the saffron age and LAI, the value of K decreases and consequently radiation absorption and use efficiency will increase.
Agriculture
Ayatollah Saeedizadeh
Abstract
In order to isolation and identification of causal agents of corm rot and their control, the sampling was done from corms in farms of Bushroueye, southern Khorasan province. After culturing of sections of infected corms, the fungi, Penicillium digitatum, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizopus stolonifer were ...
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In order to isolation and identification of causal agents of corm rot and their control, the sampling was done from corms in farms of Bushroueye, southern Khorasan province. After culturing of sections of infected corms, the fungi, Penicillium digitatum, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizopus stolonifer were isolated and identified. For their control test, four concentrations of Pseudomonas fluorescens CHAO, Trichoderma harzianum Bi, and four concentrations of fungicides, cupper oxichlorore and benomil,were used with four replications. The control effect of antagonists and fungicides were determined by measurement of diameter of pathogens colony on medium. The results showed that the maximum of control of antagonistic fungus were obtained in concentrations of 1×107 and 1×108, and in the case of antagonistic bacterium wereshown in concentrations of 1×109 and 1×1010. The fungicides had maximum control in concentrations of 3×10-3 and 4×10-3. In general, among of the treatments, T. harzianumwas most effective to reducing the growth of pathogenic fungi.
Agriculture
Soroor Khorramdel; Mahdi Nassiri Mahallati; Fatemeh Moallem Banhangi; Abdollah Mollafilabi
Abstract
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a well-known and accurate methodology for comparison of environmental impacts of activities including different agricultural management systems. Since the used inputs have an important role in environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, LCA have been extensively ...
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Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a well-known and accurate methodology for comparison of environmental impacts of activities including different agricultural management systems. Since the used inputs have an important role in environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, LCA have been extensively applied for crop species. This study was conducted to assess the environmental impact of saffron production systems based on field area (<0.5, 0.5-1 and >1 ha) in the Khorasan-e Razavi province using LCA methodology. The amounts of utilized agricultural inputs from the first year to the sixth year were collected by means of a questionnaire (13 fields from each area). In this regard, four phases, which are goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation, were designed to assess life cycle index with ISO14044 procedure. Functional unit were considered as one kg of flower. Three main categories as impacts on environment including global warming, acidification and eutrophication (terrestrial and aquatic) were defined. Finally, an index -called environmental index (EcoX) was calculated. Cronbach's alpha was used assessing the reliability of the questionnaire. The results showed that the Cronbach's alpha was computed with α=%84. The average values for global warming, acidification and eutrophication terrestrial and aquatic categories were calculated with115.41±53.41 kg CO2 equiv. / one kg flower yield, 0.35±0.16 kg SO2 equiv./ one kg flower yield, 0.58±0.27 kg NOx equiv./ one kg flower yield and 0.20±0.09 kg PO4 equiv./ one kg flower yield, respectively. The largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the global warming category was related to CH4. The maximum emission of pollutants in acidification, eutrophication terrestrial and eutrophication aquatic categories was related to NH3. The results revealed that, field area affected the amounts of utilized agricultural inputs and environmental impacts as flower yield. Eutrophication and climate change categories had more sensitivity and affected as intensification based on field area. Therefore, one of the appropriate approaches to mitigate and decline the environmental impacts of agricultural production is achieving higher economical yield per unit of area by increasing resource use efficiency.
Mohammad Javad Habibzadeh; Ebrahim Dorani; Seyed Mahdi Ziaratnia; Mostafa Valizadeh
Abstract
Saffron is one of the most expensive spices and natural colors used in various food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In recent years, a family of enzymes that digest carotenoid substrates into double bonds are identified and introduced in plants. This family is of enzymes Carotenoid Cleavage ...
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Saffron is one of the most expensive spices and natural colors used in various food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In recent years, a family of enzymes that digest carotenoid substrates into double bonds are identified and introduced in plants. This family is of enzymes Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase (CCD) enzymes. In this study, two isoforms of this gene were cloned and sequenced due to the importance of CCD genes in biosynthesis of apocarotenoids. Bioinformatics analyses including phylogenetic relationships and protein structures were evaluated. 3D modeling of these proteins was done by homologous modeling and using the Swiss Model database after selecting the appropriate pattern. The Ramachandran plot was drawn in order to validate the structure of the 3D model. The results show that the two CCD4a and CCD4b isoforms have both exons and one intron. In silico analysis, the physicochemical properties of CsCCD4a and CsCCD4b proteins also show that the proteins derived from these two isoforms are similar in terms of molecular weight, amino acids, isoelectric points, aliphatic index, instability index and solubility. The results of study of 3D structures resulted in proposal of similar structures for two isoforms. The results of this study can provide valuable information on the behavior and response of CCD4 enzyme in the pathway for synthesis of apricotines in saffron, and these results can be useful in future protein engineering programs.
Agriculture
Masoumeh Vakili-ghartavol; Saeedeh Alizadeh Salteh
Abstract
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a valuable product that is moderately resistant to drought and is cultivated in environments with very different climatic conditions. The most important chemical compositions of saffron include crocin and crocetin derivatives. Saffron is used as a food colouring and flavouring ...
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Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a valuable product that is moderately resistant to drought and is cultivated in environments with very different climatic conditions. The most important chemical compositions of saffron include crocin and crocetin derivatives. Saffron is used as a food colouring and flavouring agent in the food industry. Moreover, it is utilized in folk medicine as antispasmodic, carminative, sedative, anti-depression and for heart disease. In this study, saffron samples from different altitudes, i.e. Marand with altitude of 1360m and Kashmar with altitude of 1000m above sea level were collected and dried in the same conditions and compared with commercial samples. Three major metabolites (crocin, picrocrocin and safranal) were quantified in both altitudes by Spectrophotometry. The results obtained showed that saffron samples from Marand had the most amounts of crocin and picrocrocin (absorbance: 306 and 118). Also, after extraction, antioxidant activity was quantified by the DPPH free radical scavenging method. The results indicated that saffron samples from Marand had higher concentration of these constituents and antioxidant activity in comparison to that of samples from Kashmar. However, due to reduction of rain and increasing drought in the Azerbaijan region, cultivation of saffron in Marand is recommended on the basis of the results of this research and high yield and quality of saffron.
Processing, food industry and biochemistry
Ali ArastehNodeh; hossein sahabi
Abstract
In this study, the dilute acid Hydrolysis of saffron waste as a lignocellulose biomass for fermentable sugar production as a green fuel is investigated. Saffron plant waste was collected, washed with distilled water, dried by being exposed to air and sunlight, milled by a disk mill up to 50 micrometers ...
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In this study, the dilute acid Hydrolysis of saffron waste as a lignocellulose biomass for fermentable sugar production as a green fuel is investigated. Saffron plant waste was collected, washed with distilled water, dried by being exposed to air and sunlight, milled by a disk mill up to 50 micrometers and kept in plastic at room temperature. The prepared biomass was heated in a specified acidic solution for a predetermined time period in the autoclave. The influences of 3 major parameters including temperature, acid concentration and time on the produced fermentable sugar is investigated by the response surface method. According to previous studies, the levels for pretreatment were: temperature (116, 124, 132, and 140oC), process time (20, 30, 40, and 50 minute and sulfuric acid concentration (0, 1, 2, and 3%). To determine the type and quantity of products, the filtered solution was analyzed by HPLC and the results (glucose, xylose and furfural) were modeled by a quadratic equation. This model showed that glucose concentration was influenced by the quadratic power of acid concentration and time while xylose concentration was influenced by time and furfural depends on time alone. It may be concluded that high acid concentration, low temperature and medium time could produce maximum products (glucose and xylose) with minimum inhibitor (furfural).
Agriculture
Mahdieh Rashid Sorkhabadi; Ali Shahidi; Abbas Khashei Siuki
Abstract
The city of Torbat Heydarieh located in the central Khorasan is the largest producer of saffron in the world. According to the influence of various environmental factors on the growth and yield of saffron, the process of assessing land ratio for its cultivation requires the use of various detailed spatial ...
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The city of Torbat Heydarieh located in the central Khorasan is the largest producer of saffron in the world. According to the influence of various environmental factors on the growth and yield of saffron, the process of assessing land ratio for its cultivation requires the use of various detailed spatial and descriptive pieces of information. In this study, first the conditions of cultivating saffron have been studied in detail and suitable regions for planting saffron have been identified using maps of elevation, slope, soil characteristics, water and some climatic factors influencing the cultivation of saffron including effective threshold temperature, rainfall and sunshine hours. For this purpose, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method was applied and modeling and spatial analysis were carried out using Arc GIS software environment based on the lands of the city of Torbat Heydarieh which were evaluated for their suitability for cultivation of saffron. It is worth noting that the final map showed that 43 percent of the central parts of Torbat Heydarieh have the highest potential for saffron cultivation. To evaluate the results and ensure the accuracy of the final map data, plant functions and crop qualities were compared with obtained data from final maps and the accuracy of the results was confirmed that shows the effectiveness of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method in assessing the potential of lands for saffron cultivation.
