نشریه زراعت و فناوری زعفران
سال سوم شماره 4 (پیاپی 10، زمستان 1394)

The main objective of this research was to determine indicators of technical and economic water use efficiency in the cultivation of saffron and wheat in the Qaenat region located in the South Khorasan province in Iran), where 50 wheat farms and 48 saffron farms were investigated during 2011 and 2012. For this purpose, the necessary information about farmer’s age and education, crop yield, the area under wheat and saffron cultivation, type of irrigation source, water flow rate and the number and duration of irrigation were collected by using a questionnaire. The results showed that the calculated indicator of water use efficiency was 0.84 and 0.34 kg.m-3 for wheat total biomass and grain and 0.36 and 0.002 kg.m-3 for saffron total biomass and stigma, respectively. Economic water use efficiency was estimated to be 23706.43 and 1836.89 Rials per cubic meter of water use in saffron and wheat production systems, respectively. There was a significant difference between the different ages of saffron farms for economic water use efficiency and the maximum value of this indicator was related to five-year old farms. Education of the farmers and the area under cultivation were identified as factors influencing the studied measures for wheat. Also, the results showed that there is a significant negative correlation between economic water use efficiency and soil salinity.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most expensive spice and 95% of its global production is in Iran. In order to study the effects of cow manure and foliar spraying on criteria of daughter corms and flower yield in six year-old saffron, an experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during two growing seasons of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. Treatments were Yaramilla complex (A), Humestar (B), True fertilizer (C), Delfard (D), manure fertilizer as composted cow manure (E), A+E, B+E, C+E, D+E and control. Twenty t.ha-1 of cow manure were applied at the end of fall on the soil surface. Foliar nutrient treatments were sprayed at three times during vegetative stage of saffron (7 mg.kg-1). The results showed that the effects of cow manure and foliar spraying were significant on dry weight of tunic, dry weight of leaf, dry weight of corm, leaf length, leaf appearance rate, flower emergence rate, flower number, fresh weight of flower and dry weight of stigma for saffron (p≤0.01). The highest leaf appearance rate and flower emergence rate were observed in C+E with 7.34 leaves per day and 11.7 flowers per day, respectively. The maximum fresh weight of flower and stigma dry weight were obtained in C+E with 69.77 and 0.66 g.m, respectively. These lowest amounts were obtained in control with 27.30 and 0.26 g.m-2, respectively. The application of cow manure resulted in enhanced growth and yield of corm and flower. Also, foliar spraying improved flowering rate, flower yield and stigma yield of saffron due to increasing in production assimilates and their translocation to corm and below ground organs.

In order to evaluate and access the best conditions to cultivate saffron in Tabriz, an experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station of the University of Tabriz (Khalatpooshan), in a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design and three replications. The treatments included two ecotypes of saffron in 4 levels of mother corm weight (3.1- 5, 5.1- 7, 7.1- 9 and more than 9 g) and two planting methods (row and mass). The results showed that corm weight and planting method had significant effects on the number and weight of replacement corms. But there was no significant effect on the different ecotypes. Among the experimental treatments, corms with 7.1- 9 g weight lead to the highest total corm number (342.65 corm.m-2) and corm yield (892.9 g.m-2) and the yield of flowers and stigma of saffron. It seems that for production of larger replacement corms and increased flowering yield, we need to culture large maternal corms. In addition, we observed the best economical yield that is determined by amount of stigma, in row planting method. The results showed that row planting method leads to a higher amount and yield of replacement corm production in comparison to mass planting method. As a result, producing corms with high weight followed by increasing of flower yield requires the use of large maternal corms for cultivation and row planting method.

The city of Torbat Heydarieh located in the central Khorasan is the largest producer of saffron in the world. According to the influence of various environmental factors on the growth and yield of saffron, the process of assessing land ratio for its cultivation requires the use of various detailed spatial and descriptive pieces of information. In this study, first the conditions of cultivating saffron have been studied in detail and suitable regions for planting saffron have been identified using maps of elevation, slope, soil characteristics, water and some climatic factors influencing the cultivation of saffron including effective threshold temperature, rainfall and sunshine hours. For this purpose, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method was applied and modeling and spatial analysis were carried out using Arc GIS software environment based on the lands of the city of Torbat Heydarieh which were evaluated for their suitability for cultivation of saffron. It is worth noting that the final map showed that 43 percent of the central parts of Torbat Heydarieh have the highest potential for saffron cultivation. To evaluate the results and ensure the accuracy of the final map data, plant functions and crop qualities were compared with obtained data from final maps and the accuracy of the results was confirmed that shows the effectiveness of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method in assessing the potential of lands for saffron cultivation.

In this study we investigate the importance of agricultural sector research and technology organizations (RTO) in the national economic system. The main objective of the paper is to identify and rank the factors affecting the promotion of these RTOs share in saffron’s added value. Through the literature review we extracted all the relevant factors that have been mentioned by different researchers. Then, we classified these factors into six components: applied research, technology acquisition, commercialization, market development, industry’s internal factors and national macro factors. We used a Likert scale questionnaire to gather the data about the importance of each factor based on research and technology experts’ points of view. To analyze the data we utilized confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) methods using SPSS and smart PLS software packages. The results show that the most important factor affecting the share of agricultural RTOs in a products added value is the promotion of industrial firms to invest in the field of agricultural research and development. Finally, according to the obtained results, some suggestions for improving research and technology have been provided.

The importance of saffron in the growth of non-oil exports makes it necessary to explain proper marketing systems based on expert priorities. The aim of this study is to identify and prioritize marketing mix elements influencing the increase in export of this product. In this regard, based on McCarthy's 4P model, different criteria for export marketing of this product were determined and prioritized using Analytical Hierarchy Process and interviews with 63 experts in the export of saffron. Based on the findings, product criteria with important sub criteria such as brands, the standard sign and packaging weighting 0.485, have the highest priority in saffron marketing. Promotion criteria (weight 0.281) are the next important in determining the marketing mix. Among the indicators of this criterion, advertisements (0.408), overseas sales (0.23) and specialized exhibitions 0.138) were the determining factors in maintaining Iran`s share of this market. Finally, the criteria of price (weight 0.183) and distribution (0.068) have third and fourth priority in saffron marketing mix. Accordingly, identifying distribution channels in target markets, funding the establishment of an international distribution network for Iranian brands, supporting mechanized production process of saffron, and encouraging and requiring manufacturers to food-grade and health license are required and recommended.