Effect of foliar application, fertilizer type and time on Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Torbat-e-Heydarie landrace corm growth and production

A major constraint limiting saffron (Crocus sativus L.) cultivation is the difficulty of obtaining high quality corms for propagation. This study was conducted to compare foliar application effect of three fertilizer types at different times on corm growth and production in saffron as a split plot expreriment in randomized complete block design with three replications during 2013-2014 growing season in Ein abad, in a village in Torbat-e Heydarie of Khorasan Razavi Province. Main plots consisted of Delfan Plus, Ultrasol 1, 2 fertilizers and control, sub plots were three application different times include 1&25 March and 14 April 2014, respectively. Measured traits was including dry weight, replacement corms size and the total number of mother and replacement corms. Analysis of variance showed significant effects of different treatments of foliar application and foliar spray time on size, weight of replacement corms in saffron, but the effect of treatments on the total number of mother and replacement corms per unit area and their interaction effects were not significant. In conclusion, results of this study demonstrated all fertilizers compared to control treatment and Delfan Plus fertilizer compared to other fertilizers and also control treatment (respectively 13.5, 13.6 and 13%) had more increasingly effect on size, weight of replacement corms. Among foliar spray time treatments, on 25 March, 2014 had superiority in positive impact on size, weight of replacement corms compared to other times. So that foliar spray time on 25 March, 2014 compared to 1March and 14 April 2014 caused to increase 6.6% and 11% respectively of daughter corm size, therefore among applied fertilizers, Delfan plus was best fertilizer and also among application times, on 25 March, 2014 was the most appropriate time.