Study of morphological traits and picrocrocin variation in different genotypes of saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

Crocus sativus L. is one of the most important medicinal plants and expensive spice in the world. This study was carried out to evaluate morphological traits and picrocrocin composition of 27 genotypes derived from different regions of country. Twenty-seven genotypes were cultivated in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications at Shahid Fozveh Station of Esfahan Research Center of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Stigma yield، flower fresh weight، number of flower، number of days to appearance of the first flower، plant height at flowering stage، flowering period and picrocrocin content were measured. Variance analysis of data showed significant differences among genotypes for all traits (p<0. 01). Based on mean comparison، the highest and the lowest number of days to appearance of the first flower were recorded for Hamedan genotype and Ghaen and Boshroye genotypes، respectively. The variation range of picrocrocin varied from 0. 425 to 0. 681. Neishaboor and Esfahan genotypes had the highest and the lowest stigma yield، respectively. In addition، the highest number of flower was recorded for Neishaboor genotype. Cluster analysis divided the genotypes in to seven clusters. According to the obtained results، the genotypes classified in the 6th cluster showed appropriate traits of stigma yield، flower fresh weight، number of flower، flowering period، and number of days to appearance of the first flower. Results of this study revealed considerable variation among the genotypes probably because of the variety of ancestors or mutation phenomenon. Our results showed no relationship between agronomic diversity and geographic distribution.