Agriculture
Hamid-reza Fallahi; Alijan Salariyan
Abstract
This descriptive research was conducted as interviews using 125 questionnaires among the saffron farmers of Torbat-Heydariyeh, Iran, during 2020-2021. The aim of this study was to compare the most important agronomic operations related to saffron cultivation among three groups of farmers (ordinary, skilled ...
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This descriptive research was conducted as interviews using 125 questionnaires among the saffron farmers of Torbat-Heydariyeh, Iran, during 2020-2021. The aim of this study was to compare the most important agronomic operations related to saffron cultivation among three groups of farmers (ordinary, skilled and leading farmers), and to compare the methods used by the farmers with the recommendations of saffron researchers. The classification of farmers into the three mentioned groups was based on the stigma yield in relation to the field age. Before the research, the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed and its reliability was also determined using the test-retest method. The results showed that against 15% of leading farmers, none of the ordinary and skilled farmers had agricultural education. The average education of ordinary, skilled and leading farmers were 7.1, 7.5 and 10.9 years, respectively. Corm planting date of the highest number of ordinary and skilled farmers (46.2% and 35.7%, respectively) was in September, while for the leading farmers (37.5%) was in June. The average amounts of corm application by ordinary, skilled and leading farmers was 8.9, 8.9 and 10.5 ton ha-1, respectively, and the average amount recommended by researchers was 10.4 ton ha-1. All the saffron researchers recommended the corm row planting method, which is accordance with the 30, 43.1 and 44.4% procedures of ordinary, skilled and leading farmers, respectively. The minimum corm weight recommended by researchers was 8 g, which is applied by 18.7% of ordinary farmers, 25% of skilled farmers and 100% of leading farmers. Hand weeding was the most common method of weeds control among all farmers. Contrary to the recommendation of most researchers to remain saffron leaves as mulch, the leaves are mainly used as animal feed. The appropriate field age according to researcher’s recommendation was 5-6 years, while most of the farmers use the field for 7-8 years after each planting time. In general, the low level of knowledge, mass planting method (several corms in each planting point), planting of small mother corms, inappropriate planting date and long-term exploitation of the fields were the most important cases of improper field management, especially by ordinary farmers.
Agriculture
Hamid-Reza Fallahi; Alijan Salariyan
Abstract
This research was conducted using questionnaires and the analysis of soil samples (the content of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) obtained from saffron fields of Torbat-Heydariyeh, Iran, during 2020-2021. In this research, saffron irrigation and nutrition management methods among ...
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This research was conducted using questionnaires and the analysis of soil samples (the content of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) obtained from saffron fields of Torbat-Heydariyeh, Iran, during 2020-2021. In this research, saffron irrigation and nutrition management methods among three farmer groups (progressive farmers, skilled farmers and ordinary farmers) were investigated and compared with the recommendations of saffron researchers. The classification of farmers in the mentioned three classes was based on the stigma yield in relation to the field age. The results showed that most of the progressive and skilled farmers used the combined nutrition management method (organic fertilizer + chemical fertilizer with frequency of about 65%), while the single application of chemical fertilizer was the most common method among ordinary farmers (47.5%). The mean amount of organic manure application for ordinary, skilled and progressive farmers was 5.0, 6.3 and 10.7 ton ha-1year-1, respectively (less than the amount of 19.2 tons recommended by researchers) and the mean amount of nitrogen application was 49.5, 56.5 and 87 kg ha-1 (compared with 93.3 kg recommended by researchers). The application of phosphorus and particularly potassium was not a common practice among all three groups’ farmers. The average content of organic matter in the fields was 0.68%, nitrogen 0.041%, phosphorus 16.1ppm and potassium 292 ppm, which indicates the poverty of soils in terms of organic matter and to some extent nitrogen. The foliar application of nutrients for the fields of ordinary, skilled and progressive farmers was 0.23, 0.65 and 1.00 times per year, respectively, and the average irrigation times was 3.2, 3.6, and 4.6 times per year, respectively, which is less than the recommended values by experts (2.55 and 5.8 times per year, respectively). Summer irrigation (44.4% of farmers) and sprinkle irrigation method (26.8% of farmers) were more common among progressive farmers. In general, the poverty of organic matter and lack of nitrogen in the soil, low foliar application of nutrients and lack of use of modern irrigation methods were among the most important reasons for the high gap yield of saffron fields.
