Agriculture
Amir Mohammad Zargarian; Faezeh Zaefarian; abbas jalali; Vahid Akbarpour
Abstract
This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of cover crop on the density and biomass of weeds in a saffron field in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications located in Neka in 2022. The experimental treatments applied in the saffron farm was include: ...
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This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of cover crop on the density and biomass of weeds in a saffron field in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications located in Neka in 2022. The experimental treatments applied in the saffron farm was include: cover crop planting of Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum - graecum L.), rapeseed (Brassica napus), treatment of no weed control with cover crop (control 1) and weeds control with no cover crop (control 2). The measured traits included the density and biomass of broad-leaved and narrow-leaved weeds, the dominant weed density in the field, Shannon-Wiener species diversity index and the performance indicators of saffron corm that were measured including the number of daughter corm, total daughter corm yield, average daughter corm weight, corm average diameter and corm yield in different weight groups per square meter. The results showed that barley cover crop cultivation treatment has the lowest density and biomass of broad-leaved and narrow-leaved weeds among the treatments, so that its cultivation caused a decrement of 96 and 88% of the biomass of broad-leaved and narrow-leaved weeds, respectively. In addition, among cover crops, the highest species diversity related to canola and the lowest one related to barley are 0.93 and 0.43, respectively. With the comparison among the cover crops, the highest total yield of daughter corm belonged to canola, clover, fenugreek and then barley were 1273.9, 1243, 1234.8 and 1175.2 g/m2, and the highest total corm yield, average corm weight and corm yield above 8 g was obtained with canola cover crop cultivation, which showed an increase of 6, 79 and 14%, respectively, compared to the control with no weeding. In general, although the weeding treatment as well as the saffron corm yield indicators were superior to other treatments, but this point should be notice that with the planting of cover plants, along with the stability and fertility of the system in the long term, there is a higher economic advantage, ultimately brings benefits to the farmer.
Economics and Marketing
somayeh shirzadi laskookalayeh; mohammad Bahadori; abbas jalali; Alijan Salariyan
Abstract
This study used the benefit-cost analysis and various financial indicators, such as Net Present Value, Benefit-Cost Ratio, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period, to determine the economic feasibility of saffron production under controlled conditions in Mazandaran province. Data for calculating ...
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This study used the benefit-cost analysis and various financial indicators, such as Net Present Value, Benefit-Cost Ratio, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period, to determine the economic feasibility of saffron production under controlled conditions in Mazandaran province. Data for calculating these financial indicators were collected through field surveys, questionnaires, interviews with experts and specialists from the Agriculture Jihad Organization of Mazandaran province, and by obtaining fixed and variable costs as well as income from the establishment of controlled environment spaces for saffron production (spaces with areas of 200 square meters, 1000 square meters, and 5000 square meters) from agricultural service centers. The collected data were analyzed and evaluated using COMFAR software version 3.3, and the results, including financial indicators and sensitivity analysis under different scenarios, were presented. The findings suggest that at a discount rate of 18% and an inflation rate of 35.06%, establishing a saffron production unit on a 200-square-meter plot is not financially viable within a seven-years. (one year for construction and six years for operation). However, for plots with areas of 1000 and 5000 square meters, the internal rate of return is 36.85% and 53.99%, respectively, making them financially viable. According to the project ranking test, increasing the plot area for saffron production under controlled conditions leads to higher financial profitability. Furthermore, based on the sensitivity analysis results, it was identified that increasing product sales income has a more significant impact on project profitability compared to reducing fixed and variable costs. Positive steps such as increasing production, effective marketing, and improving product quality can enhance profitability.
Agriculture
Faezeh Zaefarian; Abbas Jalali; Hamed Kaveh; Fatemh Delavarnia
Abstract
The present research was conducted in order to achieve the best method of planting and obtaining the maximum yield of flowers and stigmas of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in two stages in Sari Plain. The first stage was carried out in the research farm of Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources ...
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The present research was conducted in order to achieve the best method of planting and obtaining the maximum yield of flowers and stigmas of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in two stages in Sari Plain. The first stage was carried out in the research farm of Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University during 2021-2022 as split plots on randomized complete blocks design with three replications, in which the experimental treatments included drainage depth (15, 30, and 45 cm) in the main plots and three drainage distances (50, 100 and 150 cm) in the subplots. In the second stage, the produced corms were stored for three months in the incubation environment, and then, the corms were transferred to two different environments of aeroponic and field to evaluate saffron's flower and stigma performance. The measured traits included the number of produced flowers, average flower weight, dry stigma weight in both field and aeroponic, and the amount of safranal, picrocrocin, and crocin and in aeroponic conditions. The evaluation of reproductive traits of saffron under aeroponic showed that with increasing the depth of the drain and decreasing the distance of the drain, traits such as the number of flowers, flower weight, and stigma dry weight increased; when the maximum value of these traits, equivalent to 4744 flowers.m-2, 1423 g.m-2, and 10.7 g.m-2 were observed at 30 cm drainage depth and 100 cm drainage distance, which did not have a significant difference with 45 cm drainage depth treatment and 100 cm drainage distance. In addition, the results showed that the amount of picrocrocin decreased with increasing the depth of the drain and the distance of the drain. In addition, no significant difference was observed between different treatments for crocin content. Comparing the reproductive traits of plants under two cultivation conditions, namely air, and field, revealed a reduction of 21%, 20%, and 12% in the number of flowers, fresh flower weight, and dry weight of stigma, respectively, within the field conditions. In summary, the findings suggest that, for optimal saffron production in coastal areas, the propagation of corms in the field at depths of 30 cm and 100 cm with proper drainage, followed by flowering of the propagated corms through aeroponic cultivation, could be a viable and economically sound approach for one-year saffron cultivation in the Sari plain region.
Agriculture
Abbas Jalali; Faezeh Zaefarian; Benjamin Torabi; Rahmat Abbasi
Abstract
Saffron can be cultivated in many regions of the world with different climates. But the best climate for growing saffron is the Mediterranean climate with its warm and dry summers. The present study was conducted to evaluate some indicators of saffron growth in 2019-2020 in four region with different ...
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Saffron can be cultivated in many regions of the world with different climates. But the best climate for growing saffron is the Mediterranean climate with its warm and dry summers. The present study was conducted to evaluate some indicators of saffron growth in 2019-2020 in four region with different altitudes above sea level in Sari, Iran. These regions include Sari plain (level with sea level), Sarkat (350 meters above sea level), Reskat (900 meters above sea level) and Margav (1350 meters above sea level). These experiments were performed in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatment was includes corm size in three weight groups: small (4±2 g), medium (10±2 g) and large (15±2 g) and Measured traits include leaf area index, cumulative dry matter, growth rate, relative growth rate and saffron yield. The results showed that the trend of saffron leaf area development in all studied regions has a non-linear trend and follows a logistic-peak function. Based on the results, a significant difference was observed between the leaf area development trend among different sizes of mother corm in all regions and the trend of leaf area index changes during the growing season was higher for larger corms than for smaller corms. The trend of changes in dry matter accumulation also had a sigmoidal trend in all experiment region. Total dry matter changes were higher for larger corms. Although the trend of changes in crop growth rate in higher altitude region was lower; But the rate of growth rate fluctuation or in other words the difference between the minimum and maximum growth rate during the season in the two higher regions was less than the lower regions. The growth trend of saffron in four regions showed that it grows during the season in region with higher altitudes above sea level and following more vegetative growth and more dry matter allocation to the storage organ, larger corm is produced and the potential to increase the yield of dried saffron flowers and stigmas will increase next year.
Economics and Marketing
Abbas Jalali; Reza Esfanjari Kenari; Somaye Shirzadi Laskookalayeh
Abstract
In this study, profit efficiency and its influence factors were analyzed using stochastic frontier production approach and simultaneously estimating the behavioral profit model of saffron farms. For this purpose, information from 81 farmers that were interviewed randomly in 2014 was used. The results ...
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In this study, profit efficiency and its influence factors were analyzed using stochastic frontier production approach and simultaneously estimating the behavioral profit model of saffron farms. For this purpose, information from 81 farmers that were interviewed randomly in 2014 was used. The results showed that the average profit efficiency of saffron farms was 61.4 percent and 51.3 percent of saffron farms have lower profit efficiency than 50 percent. Based on the results of the frontier profit function, pesticide costs have a negative effect on the profit of saffron farms and the cost of water, machine, labor cost, years of experience, farm size and participation in promoting class are positive and have a significant effect on profit efficiency. Based on the results of this study providing the necessary conditions along with easier and cheaper access to modern equipment and also encouraging farmers to use optimal allocation and reduce costs is an effective step to improve the profitability of saffron farms.
