Agriculture
Azam Rezaee; Morteza Yaqubi
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of climate change on saffron land rents in Khorasan Razavi province. To achieve this goal, relevant data and statistics were gathered from the National Meteorological Organization and the Agricultural Jihad Organization of Khorasan Razavi province between 2011-2020. ...
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This study aimed to investigate the impact of climate change on saffron land rents in Khorasan Razavi province. To achieve this goal, relevant data and statistics were gathered from the National Meteorological Organization and the Agricultural Jihad Organization of Khorasan Razavi province between 2011-2020. In doing so, panel data of the Ricardian technique was employed. The net present value of land rent was subsequently calculated. Considering three climate change scenarios, A1, B1, and AB (pessimistic, optimistic, and intermediate) till 2100 of IPCC, the ultimate effect of climate change on saffron land rents in Khorasan Razavi province was predicted. The results indicated that all of the cities in Khorasan Razavi province had positive saffron land rents throughout the study period. Torbat-e-Jam had the highest value of saffron land rent with 535,079,456 Tomans, while Kashmar and Roshtkhar had the lowest value with 160,079,456 Tomans. Moreover, the trend of changes in land rents is positive in some cities and negative in others. Bajestan, Torbat-e-Jam, Jooybar, and Khoshab have an increasing trend in the value of saffron land rent. In addition, the trend of land rent in Bakharz, Taybad, Bardaskan, Torbat Heydariyeh, Joghatai, Chenaran, Khalilabad, and Khaf is decreasing. Based on a fixed effects model, the average annual temperature, cumulative precipitation, and maximum average temperature have a positive and significant effect. In contrast, the interactive effect of temperature, precipitation and minimum average temperature negatively and significantly affect saffron land rents. Considering climate scenarios until 2025, land rent will decrease by 11.0% per hectare. Moreover, changes in land rent caused by temperature and precipitation climate scenarios until 2100 are estimated to be 326.0%. Considering the average land rent and the total saffron cultivation area in Khorasan Razavi province, we will have a decrease of 7.93 billion Tomans in land rent. Given the inevitability of climate change, evaluating its effects can be effective in managing this phenomenon.
Economics and Marketing
Seyedhossein Mohammadzadeh; Alireza Karbasi; Hossein Mohammadi
Abstract
Iran's recent years of experience show that the economy's dependence on crude oil sales results in instability of export income. Saffron is one of the important export items of the agricultural and medicinal plants sector, which in recent years has despite the increase in the area under cultivation and ...
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Iran's recent years of experience show that the economy's dependence on crude oil sales results in instability of export income. Saffron is one of the important export items of the agricultural and medicinal plants sector, which in recent years has despite the increase in the area under cultivation and production, the export has not grown in line with it. Khorasan Razavi province is one of the leading provinces in the production and trade of this product. This study aims to present the multidimensional index of export development and examine the factors affecting this index regarding the saffron product in Khorasan Razavi and its trading countries in the period of 2011-2020. The necessary statistics and information were collected from 24 exporting companies active in this field in Razavi Khorasan province and 14 exporting companies in Germany, Italy, India and China by completing a questionnaire. In order to investigate the foreign trade network of saffron and the factors affecting the export development index, a three-dimensional panel model was used. The export development index was measured using the sub-indices of export performance, export management and export strategy. The results showed that the company's history, company size, marketing strategies, export standards, research and development costs, government support policy index, and government foreign diplomacy, value of domestic products, brand development and marketing mixes are among the factors affecting the development index. It is the export of medicinal plants.
Agriculture
Elnaz Ghaffarzadeh; Noraddin Hosseinpour Azad; Ali Shahi; Olivia De Murtas
Abstract
Saffron with the scientific name (Crocus sativus L.) belongs to the Iridaceae family. This plant stigma is one of the most expensive spices in the world due to its rich apocarotenoids contents crocin (responsible for color), picrocrocin (bitter taste), and safranal (perfume). For quantitative analysis ...
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Saffron with the scientific name (Crocus sativus L.) belongs to the Iridaceae family. This plant stigma is one of the most expensive spices in the world due to its rich apocarotenoids contents crocin (responsible for color), picrocrocin (bitter taste), and safranal (perfume). For quantitative analysis of these metabolites by Spectroscopy and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC UV-Vis) in Saffron stigma biphasic extract, in purpose the aim of introducing a suitable chemotype of this plant for cultivation in Ardabil province, this study was conducted in an experimental design of randomized complete blocks with three different replications. the data analysis of variance with GenStat ver. 12.1 showed that there were significant differences (P <0.01) between the studied areas based on the apocartenoids content, and the mean comparisons with the protected Fisher test showed that among the studied areas the chemotype of Onar village in Meshginshahr city Following the quantitative pattern of apocarotenoids, has a relative dominance in comparison with other regions, and on average, the amounts of crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal in the sample volume range are 0.15±0.1, 4.9±0.11 and 1±0.2 of dry matter was measured respectively. According to the obtained data, According to the obtained data, it can be inferred that this region of Ardabil province compared to other regions of this province has the necessary potential to produce this product with high quality.
Processing, food industry and biochemistry
Javad Feizy; Moslem Jahani; Elaheh Moradi; Sima Ahmadi
Abstract
One of the new management methods to reduce costs and also environmental pollution is the use of agricultural waste. Considering the importance of metal compounds in the consumer’s health and their decisive role in proposing suitable cultivation areas and developing food applications of saffron ...
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One of the new management methods to reduce costs and also environmental pollution is the use of agricultural waste. Considering the importance of metal compounds in the consumer’s health and their decisive role in proposing suitable cultivation areas and developing food applications of saffron by-products in Iran, it is necessary to measure micronutrients and useful nutritional metal elements and heavy metal residues. Iran is the largest producer and exporter of saffron in the world with an annual production of 330 tons and an export of 280 tons. In this study, minerals of different components of saffron flowers (petals, stamens and styles) collected from eleven farms (in Khorasan Razavi and Qazvin provinces) were measured using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The results showed that in the stamen, the highest amount of micronutrients was related to magnesium (3031.9031), sodium (366.29), iron (236.57), copper (122.01), manganese (109.04) and zinc (91.17) mg/kg, respectively. Also, calcium and potassium quantities were 2.30 and 3.51 g/100g, respectively. In the style samples, the highest amount of micronutrients was related to magnesium (2365.78), sodium (394.53), iron (238.11), manganese (113.13), zinc (66.83) and copper 49.39 mg/kg, respectively. In the style samples, calcium (4.30) and potassium (2.15) were 4.30 and 2.15 g/100g, respectively. In the case of petals, like style, the highest levels of micronutrients were related to magnesium (1805/80), sodium (539.25), iron (292.63), manganese (81.98), zinc (56.76) and copper 16.17) mg/kg, respectively. Also, the amount of calcium and potassium were 3.45 and 1.59 g/100g, respectively. Due to the results and richness of these by-products of micronutrients, they can be used in various food industries, including enrichment and compensation of mineral deficiency of various processed and canned foods.
Economics and Marketing
Mohammadjavad Mehdizadehrayeni; Hamid Hamidmohammadi; Masoud dehdashti
Abstract
Saffron is one of the non -export products that belong to Iran more than half of it global market. In the last two decades, the export price of saffron has been declining. Continuing this process by reducing exports can have important welfare consequences for producers, exporters and consumers. In this ...
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Saffron is one of the non -export products that belong to Iran more than half of it global market. In the last two decades, the export price of saffron has been declining. Continuing this process by reducing exports can have important welfare consequences for producers, exporters and consumers. In this regard, the present study aimed to evaluate the welfare effects of saffron export prices in the world market on the aforementioned groups. The analytical tools used include domestic supply and demand functions and export supply, which was estimated by the series data during the period of 1980-2020. The findings of the study indicate a significant effect of reducing export prices on saffron exports. It has been found that the price of exporting producers and exporters is suffering from welfare, but the welfare of domestic consumer's increases, which is far less than the welfare of the two groups. Welfare analysis showed that in the saffron market if the monopoly in the market of these products completely disappeared, the total welfare of the said groups would be reduced by about 53 percent. It is suggested that before the producers are harmed, support programs should be prepared for this group specifically so that in case of changes in the world market, with the support of the product, it will be possible to continue production. Until now, the export price has always been much higher than the domestic price and exporters have been able to make a profit, so to support producers, transferring income from exporters in the form of a production protection fund can be a political solution. This fund can also be used as a tool to reduce the volatility of exporters' income.
Agriculture
Alijan Salariyan; Sohrab Mahmoodi; Mohammad. Ali Behdani; hamed kaveh
Abstract
In order to investigate the effect of salinity levels, bio fertilizer and nano fertilizer of Fe on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of saffron, a factorial experiment was conducted as a combined analysis in location by a randomized complete block design with three replications. Bio fertilizer ...
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In order to investigate the effect of salinity levels, bio fertilizer and nano fertilizer of Fe on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of saffron, a factorial experiment was conducted as a combined analysis in location by a randomized complete block design with three replications. Bio fertilizer was applied at four levels of zero, 500, 1000 and 1500 kg ha-1 and nanoparticles of Fe was applied at two levels of non-consumption and application of four liters per hectare. These factors were investigated in two locations with different irrigation salinity (2.29 and 4.49 dS m-1). The results showed that there were the highest values for traits of weight of flower, number of flowers, dry weight of stigma and weight of stigma + style in irrigation conditions with a salinity of 2.29 dS m-1. In the mentioned traits, under the conditions of irrigation with salinity of 2.29 dS m-1, there was no significant difference between the application and non-application levels of nano fertilizer of Fe; However, in the conditions of irrigation with salinity of 4.49 dS m-1, the application of nano fertilizer of Fe compared to non-application, caused a significant increase of 35.5, 33, 32.8 and 34.1% of these traits, respectively. Comparison of mean for triple interaction showed that at both salinity levels of 2.29 and 4.49 dS m-1, in the absence of bio fertilizer, the application of nano fertilizer of Fe could significantly increase the amount of crocin. However, in the application of different levels of bio fertilizer, the application of nano fertilizer of Fe reduced significantly the amount of crocin. The highest amount of safranal was observed in salinity of 4.49 dS m-1 and in the treatments of application of 500 and 1500 kg per hectare of bio fertilizer and application of nano fertilizer of Fe as well as non-application of bio fertilizers and nanoparticles of Fe. Irrigation with salinity of 4.49 dS m-1 in bio fertilizer levels (except for 500 kg ha-1) caused a significant increase in picrocrocin. In generally, it seems that for achieving higher yields, irrigation with less saline water and in case of irrigation with water by more than salinity of 4.2 dS m-1, the use of nano fertilizer of Fe to moderate the effects of salinity is recommended.
Other subject about saffron
Somayeh Khoshpeyk; reza sadarabadi; ahmad ahmadian
Abstract
In order to study the physiological responses of saffron(Crocus sativus L.) to salinity stress under application Silicon, nanosilicon and superabsorbent polymers, experiment as split plots in a randomized complete block design, in three replications and two cropping years it was done in a farm located ...
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In order to study the physiological responses of saffron(Crocus sativus L.) to salinity stress under application Silicon, nanosilicon and superabsorbent polymers, experiment as split plots in a randomized complete block design, in three replications and two cropping years it was done in a farm located in Ziauddin section of Torbat Heydariyeh city. the main factor of irrigation water quality in two levels (includes water with electrical conductivity of 1.96 dS /m as a control and water with an electrical conductivity of 6 dS /m). and sub-factor of application of silicon and superabsorbent in six levels, (includes non-consumption as a control, Silicon, nanosilicon each with a concentration of 1.5 per thousand, superabsorbent (0.4 g / kg dry weight of soil). Silicon with superabsorbent and nano Silicon with superabsorbent) the results showed that salinity reduces and consumes silicon and superabsorbent in both salinity treatments and lack of salinity stress significantly increases important traits of reproductive growth, Included number of flowers, weight of single flower, average stigma length and yield of saffron flower and stigma in every 2 years of experiment. effect of treatments on saffron leaf vegetative growth traits including number of leaves, average leaf, leaf yield, chlorophyll a and b content and also on the characteristics of produced female corms including total number of female corms, average corm weight and yield of female corm in every 2 years. Salinity increased sodium and decreased leaf and corm potassium. while the use of silicon and superabsorbent due to maintaining the stability of cell membranes, Significantly reduced the sodium content of leaves and corm under stress and increased the amount of potassium. concomitant use of nano-silicon with superabsorbent reduces sodium content by 27.5% and 23.7%, respectively. also, 22.1% and 33% increase in potassium content of saffron leaves and corm compared to the control in salinity conditions were tested in the second year. consumption of nanosilicone with superabsorbent in salinity conditions increased 46.8% and 54.3% in the yield of saffron flowers and stigmas in the second year compared to the first year, respectively. it also reduced the amount of proline in saffron leaves and corm in both years of experiment. The experimental results showed that the combined application of nano silicon and superabsorbent increased the quantitative and qualitative yield of Saffron in salinity conditions.
Agriculture
Ali Zeinadini; Mir Naser Navidi; Mahnaz Eskandari; seyed alireza seyedjalali; Javad Seyed Mohammadi; Aboalhasan Moghimi; ءشاشئئشی ganjehie; alireza moghri; mohammadreza pahlavanrad
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of soil and land characteristics on saffron yield, their rating for preparation of a soil requirements table of this plant for land suitability studies by FAO method. First, 124 saffron farms in Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Fars, Golestan, ...
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The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of soil and land characteristics on saffron yield, their rating for preparation of a soil requirements table of this plant for land suitability studies by FAO method. First, 124 saffron farms in Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Fars, Golestan, Markazi and Kerman provinces were selected. In each field, suitable soil samples were taken and a land use questionnaire was completed during three years from 2017 to 2019. Soil samples were tested to determine their physicochemical properties. After preparing the data, they were statistically analyzed. Multivariate regression between yield as a dependent variable and salinity, percentage of exchangeable sodium, soil reaction, gypsum, lime, clay, sand, silt, gravel and available potassium and phosphorus of soil were studied as independent variables by stepwise method. By examining the relationships of simple regression between important and effective land characteristics and yield, land characteristics rating was performed. Then, the saffron soil requirements table prepared. The proposed table was verified with the data of 21 new farms. The results showed that available potassium, sand, soil salinity, percentage of exchangeable sodium and lime had the highest and the reaction of soil and organic carbon had the lowest range of changes. Regression results showed that the independent variables of soil salinity, ESP, lime, gypsum, gravel and available potassium and phosphorus, respectively, affect yield. Coefficient of determination of multivariate regression showed that the variables entered in the model were able to determine 95% of the variance related to the dependent variable. The largest contribution to the reduction of saffron yield is related to soil salinity, gravel, exchangeable sodium percentage and the amount of lime. Validation results showed that the yield correlation coefficient with the soil index of the proposed table for saffron is about 0.92, which indicates the acceptable accuracy of the proposed table.
Processing, food industry and biochemistry
Behrouz akbari-adergani; morteza mohammadzade moghadam; mehdi Karimi noghabi; Mojtaba Mohammadpour; Mohammad Khalilian-Movahhed
Abstract
Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Saffron is a spice that is widely cheated. The development of techniques based on simple, inexpensive, appropriate and fast tools in the food industry is essential for detecting adulteration such as saffron adulterated. In the present study, the ...
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Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Saffron is a spice that is widely cheated. The development of techniques based on simple, inexpensive, appropriate and fast tools in the food industry is essential for detecting adulteration such as saffron adulterated. In the present study, the combination of image processing and Support vector machine (SVM) method has been used for fast and non-destructive evaluation of distinguishing authentic saffron from adulterated saffron. After preparing images from pure and counterfeit saffron and separate stigmas, the images entered the pre-processing stages and finally, statistical features related to the texture of the images and morphological features including 105 features were extracted. In order to increase the speed and accuracy of classification, PCA principal component analysis method was used to reduce the properties of the feature matrix. Also, the images were classified into two classes using different SVM kernel functions. Also, the images were classified into two classes using different SVM kernel functions. Then statistical indicators such as accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity and AUC were calculated to evaluate the classification. The values of these indices for classification with SVM cubic kernel for authentic saffron were 97, 98, 99, 93 and 97%, and for adulterated saffron, 97, 93, 83, 97.5 and 97% were obtained, respectively. The results of this classification showed that this system, as an intelligent, fast, non-destructive and accurate method, has the ability to distinguish the authentic saffron from adulterated saffron.
Economics and Marketing
Alireza Karbasi; mahmoud sabuhi sabuni; bahareh zandi dareh gharibi
Abstract
This study aimed to improve the level of quality classification of saffron and increase farmers' profits by creating a hypothetical market to investigate the factors affecting selection and the willingness of farmers to pay for saffron quality testing using contingent valuation method and open-ended ...
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This study aimed to improve the level of quality classification of saffron and increase farmers' profits by creating a hypothetical market to investigate the factors affecting selection and the willingness of farmers to pay for saffron quality testing using contingent valuation method and open-ended question. data were collected by a questionnaire from a random sample of 170 saffron producers in Khorasan Razavi province. Two-stage Heckman model was used to identify the factors influencing choice and estimation of willingness to pay. data analysis showed that about 48 percent of farmers are willing to pay an additional amount for a quality test, of which 29 percent showed willingness to pay more than 900,000 rials per kilogram of flower. The results of the model's estimation also showed that age, education, land ownership and history of saffron quality testing in the past have a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of choosing and the amount of willingness to pay extra for quality testing. Accordingly, the use of proper and comprehensive training, holding public organizations and promotional activities can play an effective role in encouraging farmers to conduct quality tests.Key words: Saffron, Willingness to pay, Contingent valuation, Two-stage Hackman model.
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
Ehsan Taghizadeh Tousi
Abstract
In this research, concentrations of vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, zinc, and arsenic were measured in saffron and saffron farm soil in two counties of Torbat Heydariyeh and Zaveh as two main centers of saffron production in the world using the neutron activation analysis method. The soil chromium ...
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In this research, concentrations of vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, zinc, and arsenic were measured in saffron and saffron farm soil in two counties of Torbat Heydariyeh and Zaveh as two main centers of saffron production in the world using the neutron activation analysis method. The soil chromium and cobalt concentrations of all farms were found to be much higher than the WHO level and the values of vanadium, manganese, zinc, and arsenic were lower than the admissible level. The deficiency of essential elements for plant growth in the soil was not found. Two statistical analyses were used to evaluate the results of neutron activation analysis. The results of the paired t-test showed that the concentrations of vanadium, manganese, chromium, and cobalt were similar in different soil depths, which indicated distribution of these elements in the soil to be uniform. Also, only the zinc concentrations in the corm and its surrounding soil were statistically significant, which could indicate a strong movement of this element from soil to saffron. This test also showed that the distribution of the elements was uniform in the shoots. The correlation coefficients show that the uptake of cobalt and manganese by the saffron may decrease by increasing concentration of zinc in the soil. In addition, based on the contamination index and geo-accumulation, all soils in Torbat Heydarieh and Zaveh are extremely contaminated by chromium. In the adjacent areas in these two counties (south of Torbat Heydarieh and the west of Zaveh), and the central zone of Zaveh, the contamination levels of arsenic in the soil were found to be moderate and very high, respectively. Saffron crops were estimated uncontaminated in all farms, except in eastern Zaveh and south of Torbat Heydarieh that were contaminated by chrome. According to both indices of load and degree of contamination, the soil of all saffron farms were found to be highly contaminated. Soil contamination was evaluated to be extreme by the using both pollution load Index (PLI) and contamination degree (CD). In addition, saffron threads were found to be totally uncontaminated (except in the south of Torbat Heydarieh, where the crop was moderately polluted), according to PLI and CD.
Processing, food industry and biochemistry
Morteza Mohamadzadeh moghadam; Masoud Taghizadeh; Hassan Sadrnia; Hamid reza Pourreza
Abstract
The classification of saffron as the most expensive spice is of great importance for customers and traders. In general, two methods are currently used to classify saffron. The first method is based on the experiences of an expert and by observing the samples. The second method is destructive and is performed ...
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The classification of saffron as the most expensive spice is of great importance for customers and traders. In general, two methods are currently used to classify saffron. The first method is based on the experiences of an expert and by observing the samples. The second method is destructive and is performed using laboratory methods. According to experts, the use of machine learning techniques to classify saffron is a goal due to its non-destructive nature and timely characteristics. This method can also increase the accuracy of the industrial scale grading process. In this paper, a vision machine method is presented. Due to lack of documented research on this subject, a comprehensive literature search is presented in this work. Almost all color characteristics were extracted and used in a large number of classifiers. Experts in Iran classify saffron into three main categories based on their appearance: Pushal, Negin and Sargol. In this paper, a database consisting of 440 images from saffron for the three different classes was collected using a mobile phone camera. After applying some preprocessing steps, such as background removal, cropping etc., 21 color features were extracted using different image analysis methods. Twenty-two classifiers were employed for classification. Comparing results of different classifiers showed that the Linear Discriminant, Linear SVM, Bagged Trees and RUSBoost Trees can produce more accurate grading compared to other classifiers when using color features. In particular, mean classification accuracy of 82.23% was achieved in this work using Linear a SVM classifier.
Other subject about saffron
Aliakbar Anabestani; Mahdi Javanshiri; Khadijeh Yazdani
Abstract
Changing the use of agricultural land in the village, which is mainly due to human activities, has, in addition to indirect environmental changes, has social, economic, and ... direct consequences on human life. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects and ...
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Changing the use of agricultural land in the village, which is mainly due to human activities, has, in addition to indirect environmental changes, has social, economic, and ... direct consequences on human life. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects and consequences of cultivation of saffron in recent years on the lives of villagers in the village miyanjam of the Tarbatjam county. The research method in this research is descriptive-analytic and its type is fundamental in terms of purpose. Documentary and observational methods have been used to collect information. The sample population is 10 villages in the rural district of miyanjam that have the highest level of cultivation of saffron. From 3444 families in sample rural areas with Cochran formula and error (0.08%), the sample size of 115 households were selected by random sampling method. The results of this study show that, in terms of villagers, the effect of changing the pattern of cultivation in socio-cultural indicators was 3.84 in the least and in the physical indices with the mean of 4 had the most effect. According to the results of single sample T test, the effects of saffron cultivation on the economic index with the value of 56.65 are more than other indicators. In the spatial distribution, the mean of the effects of saffron cultivation on the level of villages is Emogan village with the highest number of 4.2 and the villages of Bashzandan Olya and Hajiabad with the lowest level of 86.3. The results of ARAS's technique for accurate ranking of sample villages confirmed this. In order to investigate the significance of the relationship between the variables of the research, the coefficient of effectiveness of the indices was determined using Smart PLS software. The path coefficient of t indicated that the relationship between environmental, physical and economic variables with the general effects of saffron cultivation in the sampled villages was meaningful and direct; according to the coefficients Standard, 36% of the effects of saffron cultivation are predicted directly by the economic index.
Economics and Marketing
seyed hosein Mohammadzadeh; Alireza Karbasi; Hossein Mohammadi
Abstract
Recent multi-year experiences in Iran show that reliance on income from the sale of crude oil leads to instability in export earnings. In order to reduce the dependence of the Iranian economy on crude oil exports, export policies should be directed towards export of non-oil ...
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Recent multi-year experiences in Iran show that reliance on income from the sale of crude oil leads to instability in export earnings. In order to reduce the dependence of the Iranian economy on crude oil exports, export policies should be directed towards export of non-oil commodities, including exports of agricultural products. Saffron is one of the most important export items of the agricultural sector and medicinal plants. However, its production and export has not grown exponentially in recent years despite growing allocation of land and production. The results of various studies in have shown that one of the main reasons for failure of Iranian companies in the world market for exporting medicinal herbs is decline in competitiveness in these markets in recent years. Therefore, this study seeks to examine factors affecting competitiveness of Iran's saffron exporting companies in global markets. Competitiveness measurements using symmetric revealed comparative advantage index and analysis of its influencing factors were analyzed using the Porter Diamond Competitive Model and Fractional Logit Panel regression model. The statistics and data were collected through collecting questionnaires from 35 saffron exporter companies for 2011-2016. The results showed that the six components of the Porter diamond model including demand conditions, factor conditions, supporting industries, firm strategy, state and unpredictable events affect the competitive situation of the companies under study. Accordingly, observance of quantitative and qualitative export standards, prevention of fluctuations in the price of saffron, reduction of exchange rate fluctuations in line with government policies, reduction of production fluctuations due to climate change by providing technical solutions and sufficient attention of companies to marketing strategies are proposed as new ways to improve the competitive situation of the companies being studied.
Shukrullah Shwoban; Arash Dourandish; Mohammad Ghorbani
Abstract
Saffron is one of the agricultural products considered for cultivation by Afghan farmers in recent years. Investigation of willingness of farmers in this region to continue cultivating this crop is especially important in developing this product and promoting it at the global level due to the exceptional ...
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Saffron is one of the agricultural products considered for cultivation by Afghan farmers in recent years. Investigation of willingness of farmers in this region to continue cultivating this crop is especially important in developing this product and promoting it at the global level due to the exceptional position of Afghanistan’s saffron in the world. Therefore, the aim of this study is investigating willingness of farmers in Herat to continue production of Saffron. Data was collected using the random sampling method and completing questionnaires and performing personal interviews with saffron farmers in the Herat province in 2018 with 202 samples. The willingness to continue cultivating saffron farmers in the Herat Province was classified into four categories: very low, low, medium, and high. The results of using the ordered Logit model show that the variables yield, price, size of the farmer's household, saffron cultivation experience and capital have a positive influence on increasing willingness to continue cultivation of this product by saffron producers. On the other hand, non-agricultural income, age and availability of labor have an inverse effect on willingness to continue saffron production. At the end, suggestions are provided to achieve the research’s goal. These include provision of low-cost facilities for farmers to provide easier and cheaper access to utilization of new technologies such as use of laboratories, improvement of packaging quality and drying equipment.
Economics and Marketing
Arash Dourandish; Mohammadreza Ramezani; Milad Aminizadeh
Abstract
Increasing factor productivity in the agricultural sector is essential, and with the growing population, the need to invent more productive systems is highlighted. However, agronomic activities have always been accompanied by environmental impacts. Therefore, the two categories of productivity and agricultural ...
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Increasing factor productivity in the agricultural sector is essential, and with the growing population, the need to invent more productive systems is highlighted. However, agronomic activities have always been accompanied by environmental impacts. Therefore, the two categories of productivity and agricultural sustainability should be considered simultaneously. The present study aimed at identifying factors affecting the total factor productivity of saffron farms in Gonabad County with an emphasis on the role of attitude towards sustainable agriculture. In order to achieve the research objectives, 110 questionnaires were completed and after calculating the total factor productivity using the Tornqvist-Theil index, an Ordered-logit model was used to identify factors affecting productivity. The results indicate that attitudes toward sustainable agriculture and income have positive and significant effects on farmers' access to higher levels of productivity, while variable of participation in training courses significantly reduces the probability of achieving higher levels of productivity. Variables of sown area, agricultural insurance and main job do not have significant effects on the probability of achieving different levels of productivity. Undertaking policies which improve attitude of saffron producers towards sustainable agricultural activities and informing them about the effects of unsustainable farming, a fundamental revision of the content of training courses, financial support of farmers for provision of agricultural inputs and reforming the structure of the agricultural insurance system are effective ways to improve productivity of saffron production.
Economics and Marketing
ُSeyyed Mehdi Hosseini; Amir Dadrasmoghadam; Alireza Karbasi; Ahmad Vandaki
Abstract
Identification Risk Factors on Saffron Producers in Qaenat by Genetic function Algorithm AbstractRisk in agriculture has a significant impact on agricultural production, and farmers' risk to household economies has an impact on the economy of society. Hence, identification of important factors and determinants ...
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Identification Risk Factors on Saffron Producers in Qaenat by Genetic function Algorithm AbstractRisk in agriculture has a significant impact on agricultural production, and farmers' risk to household economies has an impact on the economy of society. Hence, identification of important factors and determinants affecting farmer risk management is of particular importance. The aim of this study to identify the factors affecting the risk of saffron Qaenat. The statistical sample was collected by using random sampling method from 120 saffron makers of this city in 2017. The results showed that there were positive relationships between 44 factors, yield factors, irrigation, sales time, expert guidance, water quality, younger seed, and money savings with saffron risk factors. Also, the factors of diversification Activities, dispute settlement, total sales, the cost of buying onions with the risk of saffron. In other words, ten fundamental factors were identified using the method of approximation of the genetic algorithm function. The results of the estimation with logit model also showed that sales time and money saving have a significant effect, but other variables in logit regression are not significant. In this regard, it is suggested that, in order to reduce the risk management of the saffron, experts should be promoted and the differences between saffron producers minimized, as well as by increasing the sales and saving time, the risk management of the saffron reduced.Keywords: Risk, Saffron, Genetic Function Algorithm, Logit
Agriculture
Seyed Mohammad Jafar Esfahani; javad Khazaee
Abstract
The ecological footprint (EF) is a strong indicator of sustainability analysis that is used today in scientific communities. The footprint index determines the space required to support an activity by the average area needed to provide resources and absorb waste in term of global hectare (ghaGha). In ...
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The ecological footprint (EF) is a strong indicator of sustainability analysis that is used today in scientific communities. The footprint index determines the space required to support an activity by the average area needed to provide resources and absorb waste in term of global hectare (ghaGha). In this study, due to the significant increase in saffron production in recent years, the sustainability of saffron production in southern Khorasan province as one of the most important saffron production centers in the country was investigated. The data for this research was collected through questionnaires and interviews with the 396 farmers in 2017. According to the different yield and consumption of inputs in different years, sustainability investigation was carried out for the first to sixth years. For this purpose, the amount of bioproductve land directly required for the production of the saffron was considered as an indicator of the direct ecological footprint and the amount of bioproductve land needed to absorb the waste generated by the production process as indirect ecological footprint. The results of this study showed that the average indirect EF of saffron was 2.02 global hectare (ghaGha), which 0.07 was related to on farm and 0.13 gha Gha was related to off farm emission. The highest EF was allocated to the first year of production. The multi-functional ecological footprint showed that the EF land was 0.01 gha, EF revenue 0.63 gha Gha and EF yield was 0.003 ghaGha. Comparing the results of this study with the results of other agricultural sector studies conducted in Iran and elsewhere in the world showed thatGeneraly it seems that saffron production is relatively sustainable farming compared to other agricultural productscrops.
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
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.
Economics and Marketing
Bahareh Zandi Darehgharibi; Alireza Karbasi; Toktam Mohtashami
Abstract
Low efficiency of water use in agricultural sector, make in nessesery to do strategies for optimization of cropping pattern and therefore water consumption, especially in dried areas such as Khorasan Razavi province. Principal selecting of these strategies needs that the results may be evaluated using ...
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Low efficiency of water use in agricultural sector, make in nessesery to do strategies for optimization of cropping pattern and therefore water consumption, especially in dried areas such as Khorasan Razavi province. Principal selecting of these strategies needs that the results may be evaluated using relevant simulation models. Saffron can be the right product in terms of water saving. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of saffron area expansion on the allocation of water resources and increase the income of farmers through the use of a model based on an extended Positive Mathematical Programming model that includes the possibility of future develop in cropping patterns, along with water allocation through a production function based on the amount of irrigation water. Required data are collected from 200 questionnaires completed by saffron producers in Torbat-e Heydarieh and Zaveh counties in year 2014. The data collected was analyzed using the software GAMS and imposing different senarios on three group of small, medium and large farms. Results of the increase in saffron cultivation shows change in cropping patterns from higher water demand products towards saffron. Positive results of this policy are increase in net income and decreasing water consumption in all three type of farms. Results of increase in available water resources that allow farmers to exploit part of the dedicated land to the cultivation of saffron, do not show uniformity results for different groups of farms. This implies that, in addition to pricing, other strategies such as investing in new technologies to improve water use and water resource management may improve economic statement and agricultural development, especially on small farms of this area.
Agriculture
Mohammadreza Ramezani; Hamed Rafiee; Hossein Norouzi
Abstract
Gonabad township in the Khorasan Razavi province is one of the largest saffron producers in Iran. Unfortunately, the yield of saffron farms in Gonabad has decreased drastically in recent years. Evidence and the opinions of agricultural engineers suggest that high-density planting can be considered as ...
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Gonabad township in the Khorasan Razavi province is one of the largest saffron producers in Iran. Unfortunately, the yield of saffron farms in Gonabad has decreased drastically in recent years. Evidence and the opinions of agricultural engineers suggest that high-density planting can be considered as one of the main reasons of yield decrease. With high-density planting, the operation period of saffron farms will start sooner. However, it will decrease the length of operation period tremendously. Furthermore, the farm will not be suitable for saffron cultivation for a long time. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of high-density planting on yield of saffron farms and determining the socio-economic factors affecting unsustainable system of high-density planting. Data of the first 6-years of farms (2011-2016) were collected and in order to analyze the data, a two-stage Heckman model which include a Probit model and a linear regression model was used. Our study findings show that farmers' age, awareness towards factors that reduce yield of saffron farms, and attending training courses are three factors that have a negative and significant impact on planting density. In other words, these three factors could prevent planting of saffron in high density. Farmers' income and their level of education are two factors which are considered to have a positive and significant impact on planting density. Finally, crop insurance does not have a significant impact in either one of the two models. Therefore, we strongly recommend that farmers should be warned of factors that cause yield decreases throughout training courses. Also, we recommend using of the experience of old and experienced farmers in order to prevent planting saffron in high densities.
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.
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.
