Other subject about saffron
Alireza Koocheki; Alireza Karbasi; Mohammad Seyyedi
Abstract
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a perennial plant which grows basically in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Despite saffron’s adaptation to these regions, the assessment of changes in cultivation area over the last 30 years reveals that cultivation of this crop has sharply increased. According ...
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Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a perennial plant which grows basically in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Despite saffron’s adaptation to these regions, the assessment of changes in cultivation area over the last 30 years reveals that cultivation of this crop has sharply increased. According to the available statistics, there are 21 provinces where saffron is cultivated on about 84,000 hectares of land. Nonetheless, saffron yield per unit area has aggressively fallen from 5.1 kg ha-1 in 1982 to 3.2 kg ha-1 in 2015. Saffron yield loss can be caused by several factors, such as mismanagement in agriculture section, economics and post-harvest processing as well as the recent droughts. Lack of attention to these factors could lead to further decline in saffron yield in the future. The saffron yield loss over the last 30 years is an alert for saffron-related institutions such as the universities, research centers and Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) to pay more attention to this crop and prepare more comprehensive programs. In developing these programs, the importance of government policies for planning and approving enough budget is to be highlighted. In this review, first we focus on the reasons for saffron yield loss during the last 30 years and then we try to provide some solutions in relation to these reasons.
Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam; Alireza Karbasi; Moein Tosan; Faezeh Gharari; Hassan Feizi; Toktam Mohtashami
Abstract
Khorasan province in Iran with a diverse climatic conditions has accommodated a wide range of plant communities particularly herbs, spices and medicinal plants. Among these Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), has been the most cultivated plant for thousands of years. These crop deliver unique interests ...
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Khorasan province in Iran with a diverse climatic conditions has accommodated a wide range of plant communities particularly herbs, spices and medicinal plants. Among these Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), has been the most cultivated plant for thousands of years. These crop deliver unique interests and applications. The novel use of Saffron in recent years in cancer cure have been promenaded and stimulated more investigation on this crop. Almost 94% of the total world’s Saffron production (298 t) and 95% of the total Iran’s Saffron production (280 t) originates from Khorasan province. Saffron is unique for the area where water scarcity is the most limiting factor in crop productions for the farmer. Saffron is almost cultivated and harvested and also to some extent processed by family workers and community cooperation bases. These crop is not only the most important source of income for farmers but also historically strong socio-cultural activities have been formed within the local community. Cultivation area and its surrounding environment conditions and production volume of Saffron, has made Khorasan province a unique location in the world. The sustainable management of these traditionally cultivated and used plants not only helps to conserve nationally and globally important biodiversity but also provides critical resources to sustain livelihoods.
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.
