نشریه پژوهش های زعفران
سال نهم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1400)

Agricultural tourism can be considered as one of the areas of diversification of the rural economy, in this regard, the present study seeks to investigate the effects of agricultural tourism on the development of local economy based on saffron farms in rural areas in the city of Neishabour. The research method is descriptive and analytical and based on library, documentary and field studies. SPSS software and fuzzy electrode model were used for data analysis. In studying the correlation between the effects of agricultural tourism and economic development of rural villages in Daebeghazi, examining the values of Spearman correlation coefficient showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the independent variable (rural tourism) and economic development of rural villages in Darbeghazi at 0.99 confidence level. Also, beta coefficients in regression analysis showed that among the items of economic development included in the regression equation, the share of agricultural tourism in diversity and stability in job creation is more than other items of economic development. Showed that every eleven items at the level of p = 0.000 (0/99 confidence) had an indirect relationship with agricultural tourism. Finally, in order to study more deeply the spatial analysis of economic development of rural villages in Darbeghazi with emphasis on agricultural tourism in each of the villages, the Electra model was used. The results showed that Khojan village with matrix 5 has the highest rate of economic development, and other villages, respectively, Jafarabad and Rouhabad, Kariz Sabah with matrix 3, Shadmianeh, Karizak, Jilo, Noruzabad with matrix 2, finally the villages of Bahroud and Haghieh with matrix 1, have the highest and lowest rate of economic development with emphasis on agricultural tourism (saffron). It is suggested that the responsible organizations cooperate and participate in the development and construction of saffron tourism farms as high-yield enterprises in line with banking facilities and private sector support.

Iran is the largest producer and exporter of saffron, but in recent years, Iran's share of the global market for this national product has been steadily declining. On the other hand, Iranian saffron export brands do not have a good competitive position in international markets compared to the foreign brands in its importing countries. According to the most experts, one of the main reasons is the lack of a strategic and shared vision among the stakeholders of the Iranian saffron industry. The aim of this study was to conceptually design the strategies of the Iranian export saffron brands Coalition and intervening conditions affecting it. The statistical population of the study included members of the Khorasan Razavi Saffron Exporters Union. The samples were selected via purposive sampling at the beginning and theoretical sampling during the study process until saturation. In-depth semi-structured interviews used for data collection, which is a common method of qualitative studies and data analysis was performed by three steps of open, axial and selective coding. The results showed that the main category of "Iranian Saffron Export Brands Coalition Strategies" has 13 sub-categories and 83 related concepts. Also, it was found that these strategies are strengthened by the sub-categories of "export smoothing", "promotion and informing" and "business facilizing" where sub-categories of "conflict of interests" and "saffron mafia" are weakened them. Finally, it is recommended that all industry stakeholders can use the findings of this study for strategically planning of Iranian export saffron brands coalition.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of application of sulfur and potassium fertilizers on yield and yield components of saffron in the crop year 2018 in Kermanshah region. The experiment was performed as a factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Experimental treatments included potassium fertilizer (potassium sulfate) at four levels (0, 50, 75 and 100 kg / ha) and sulfur fertilizer (granular) at four levels (0, 100, 150 and 200 kg / ha). The traits studied in this experiment included: number of flowers per square meter, fresh flower weight, stigma length, style length, stigma and style length assembly, stigma weight, style weight, leaf fresh weight and leaf dry weight. The results showed that the consumption of sulfur and potassium had a significant effect on the quantitative characteristics of saffron. The highest number of flowers per unit area, fresh flower weight, leaf fresh weight and leaf dry weight were obtained in the treatment of 200 kg / ha of sulfur fertilizer. Also, the study of the role of potassium showed that the highest fresh weight of flowers was observed in the application of 100 kg of potassium. Interaction of 200 kg of sulfur with 100 kg of potassium produced the highest amount of stigma length, style length, stigma dry weight and style dry weight.

Saffron is a triploid and sterile plant having no or little genetic variation. Mutation induction is a way of increasing genetic diversity in vegetatively propagated plants. The first step in the mutation induction is to perform a radio-sensitivity test for determining the proper dose of gamma ray. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the sensitivity of different doses of gamma ray in two conditions of cold and non-cold treatment of saffron corms. For this purpose, a factorial experiment with two factors including cold pre-treatment (cold and non-cold) and different doses of gamma ray (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 Gy) was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Growth and morphological characteristics such as plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf dry weight, sprouting rate and percentage in the first year (MV1), and attributes related to daughter corms and flower yield, such as mean height of the stigma and dry weight of the stigma in the second year (MV2) were measured. The results of the study showed that the effect of cold treatment, radiation and their interaction was statistically significant, with the increase in gamma dose, most of the traits decreased significantly compared to the control. The radio-sensitivity test for the mean of plant height and sprouting rate and percentage, corm weight in two levels of pre-cold treatments showed that 50% survival was in the range of 15±2 Gray. According to the radio-sensitivity test, the number of leaves per plant was less susceptible to gamma rays. In order to study the genetic diversity of the gamma-irradiated saffron. The mutated samples of saffron were evaluated using RAPD and ISSR molecular markers. Cluster analysis was performed using the UPGMA method for both marker systems. The results showed that there was polymorphism between the control samples and radiated samples. In general, the results showed that the RAPD and ISSR markers could detect the polymorphic mutants and identify saffron mutants.

One of the important factors that prevent the achievement of agricultural development goals and increase the production and income of farmers in developing countries is the inefficiency of the agricultural distribution system. Saffron as one of the most important products of the country is affected by this inefficiency. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to design the optimal method of saffron distribution using the multi-choice goal programing model. In order to achieve this goal, the required statistics and information were completed by completing 352 questionnaires in the producers section, 40 questionnaires in the wholesalers section and 150 questionnaires in the retails section by random sampling method available for Torbat Heydariyeh city (as one of the most important production centers of this product) was collected. The results of model optimization showed that 64% of the farmers under study transfer less than 10 kg of saffron to the warehouse. 32% of farmers transferred between 10 - 50 kg and only 4% of them transferred more than 50 kg of saffron to a warehouse. 62% of wholesalers received less than 100 kg of saffron and the remaining 38% received more than 100 kg of saffron from the warehouse. Also, 20% of wholesalers transferred less than 20 kg of saffron, 52% of them transferred between 20 - 40 kg of saffron and 28% of them more than 40 kg of saffron transferred to retailers. According to the optimal output of the model, the average rate of saffron transfer from retailers to Kadkan, Jolgeh Rokh, Baig and central part of Torbat Heydariyeh is equal to 0.88, 0.34, 0.87 and 32.76 kg, respectively. Also, the results of model optimization with three distribution channels showed that distribution channel No. 2 (farmer-retailer-consumer) was selected as the optimal channel with the lowest cost.

Saffron ‏(‏Crocus sativus L.‎‏)‏ is one of the most expensive agricultural and pharmaceutical products in the world, which has a special place among export products. In this study, in order to investigate the effect of some chemical and biological fertilizers on the yield and quality of saffron, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments included two levels of EM (Effective Microorganisms) fertilizer (With and without fertilizer), Two levels of selenium (0 and 1 mg/l) and Three levels of phosphorus (0, 25 and 50 mg/l). The studied factors included number of flowers, fresh and dry weight of flower, fresh and dry weight of stigma. Also, chemical analysis of stigma including crocin, picrocrocin and safranal was performed according to the national standard of Iranian saffron. The results showed that the application of EM fertilizer in selenium treated plants caused a significant increase in the number of saffron flowers. Stigma dry weight in EM fertilizer treated plants and concentration of 50 mg/l phosphorus in the presence of selenium was significantly higher than the absence of selenium. The results also showed that the application of selenium with EM fertilizer at the highest phosphorus level caused a significant increase in flower dry weight and fresh stigma weight. Based on the results of this study, the amount of picrocrocin in plants treated with a concentration of 50 mg/l phosphorus was significantly higher than the control treatment. Also, the use of phosphorus increased the amount of safranal.

For investigation the effect of algae extracts and mother corm weights on flower yield and growth characteristics of saffron (Crocus sativus L.), an experiment was conducted at Research Farm of College of Agricultural, University of Birjand, during 2017. The factors included three seaweed extracts (0, 15 and 30 L ha-1) and three corm weights [0.1- 4 (small), 4.1 – 8 (medium) and 8.1 - 12g (large-sized)] which were tested in a RCBD with three replications. Application of algae extract had a significant effect on flower yield, stigma yield, leaf weight and chlorophyll a content. The highest flower yield (1.29 g.m-2), dry stigma yield (0.059 g.m-2), leaf dry weight (0.092 g per plant) and chlorophyll a (11.1 mg g-1 FW) were obtained at 30 L ha-1 of algae extract, while the lowest amounts of flower yield (1.061 g m-2), stigmas yield (0.052 g m-2), leaves weight (0.076 g per plant) and chlorophyll a (0.98 g-1 FW) were gained in the control treatment. However, no significant difference was found between the levels 15 and 30 L ha-1 of algae extract. Corm weight also significantly influenced all studied traits. The highest number of flowers (4.7 per m-2), stigma length (33.6 mm), number of leaves (9.3 per plant) and leaf length (33.6 cm) were found in large corms, but the smallest of them were obtained from small ones. Based on the results of the interaction effects of experimental factors, the highest chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll (1.79 and 2.98 mg g-1 FW, respectively) were obtained from 30 L ha-1 of algae extract and large corms. Overall, the use of organic algae extract (30 L ha-1) and planting of larger mother corms significantly improved the growth and stigma yield of saffron.

Foreign trade of agricultural products due to high and stable exchange rate plays an important role in expanding exports and imports against various games. Among agricultural products, saffron is one of the most important agricultural exports that in recent years has been able to maintain and strengthen its position in global markets. It can be an important step to maintain the Iranian authorities - as the largest producer and exporter of saffron - in global markets and further development of the export of this product by using more information about it. Therefore, the present study seeks to investigate the factors affecting the e-commerce of Iranian saffron by being affected by the role of trade sanctions during the period 2007-2018 using a two-way panel model. Appropriate results, variables of export and import volume, economy size, importer income, world trade level index and population have a growing and significant effect and the EU trade embargo variable has a negative and significant effect on trade value. Considering the positive and significant effect of the income variable in Iran's saffron trade and in order to maintain Iran's position in the world market and prevent re-export by other theories of the UAE and Spain, despite the above conditions, a policy is proposed. Saffron can be exported to final markets.

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is related to Iridaceae family and is one of the most important products in Iran. Recently, different viral diseases were detected on it. Iris severe mosaic virus is detected on some ornamental plants in Iran but has not been reported on saffron. In order to detect this virus, we collected 130 samples with yellowing, stunning, mosaic symptoms on saffron leaves and they were tested by PCR and specific primers. Finally fragments with 917 bp were amplified in 5 samples. Samples were cloned or more investigations in Macrogene company of Korea. Investigation of phylogeny according to coat protein showed that 5 Iranian isolates were separated in two groups near to Chinese isolates. Investigation in this survey showed that different groups were separated according their geographical distribution. Recombinant investigation showed that in none of Iranian isolates there is no recombination. This research is the first report of this virus and first molecular and phylogeny investigation in saffron fields of South and Razavi Khorasan.

Due to the novelty of saffron aeroponic cultivation, many aspects related to this system have not been yet studied. This study was conducted to determine the appropriate maternal-corm weight in saffron aeroponic systems. The experiment was arranged as Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications, including five treatments (corms weighting i) less than 4, ii) 4.1-8, iii) 8.1-12, iv)12.1-16 and v) more than 16g) in the Research Complex of Medicinal Plants, ACECR of Southern Khorasan Province. The number and weight of buds, traits related to reproductive growth, traits concerning the growth of daughter corms and qualitative traits including the content of stigma apocarotenoids (crocin, picrocrocin and safranal) were studied. According to the results, by increasing the weight of corms from less than 4 to more than 16 g, the total number of buds in each corm increased from 2.96 to 11.33 and their weight increased from 130 to 1770 mg, respectively. Besides, the traits related to the economic yield of saffron (weight of stigma, weight of the perianth + stamen, weight of flower, and number of flowers) also increased by increasing the weight of the corms. The lowest yield of stigma per maternal corm with 0.12 mg belonged to corms weighing less than 4 g and the two heaviest corms treatments (16.1-1 and more than 16 g) both with 3.38 mg yielded the highest amount of stigma dry weight. By increasing the weight of maternal corm from less than 4 to 16.1-12 g, the number of flowers in each saffron corm increased from 0.026 to 0.555, respectively. Nevertheless, increasing the weight of maternal corms to more than 16 g did not increase the yield-related traits of saffron. Transplanting the corms in the farm (after flowering in the controlled environment) showed that as the weight of maternal corms increased from 16.1-1 to more than 16 g, the number of produced daughter corms increased (to almost double) from 4.11 to 8.50 per maternal corm. However, the results of the average weight of each daughter corm showed a significant decrease of 37% in maternal corms heavier than 16g compared to those of 12.1-16g. In addition, the amount of saffron apocarotenoids in aeroponic cultivation is not dramatically different from soil culture. In general, due to the fact that in the aeroponic cultivation of saffron, the production of higher economic yield and achieving a suitable number of daughter corms that are also of acceptable weight should be considered at the same time, the use of maternal corms weighing 12.1-16g due to the highest reproductive growth and yield of daughter corms from transplanting, is recommended under controlled conditions of aeroponic system.

The exciting growth of various sciences and technologies and the complexity of decision-making in recent decades, have marked new ways for humanity to use information systems and artificial intelligence, accurately and quickly and provide a solution for its time-consuming scientific and technical predictions and calculations. This study was conducted to evaluate the predictive outcome of two stepwise regression models and the M5 decision tree model under the influence of different water and soil properties on saffron flower and stigma yield in 2019 in Sabzevar saffron fields (located at longitude "57.43" Latitude "36.12") and was performed in the laboratory of the Faculty of Plant Production of Gorgan University of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources. In April, after the end of the saffron growing season, soil samples from a depth of zero to 30 cm and 12 irrigation water samples from 69 saffron farms were prepared and transferred to the laboratory to analysis and measuring the physical and chemical properties of soil samples. Around 13 parameters including pH, acidity, and percentage of soil components, soil elements, etc. and acidity, bicarbonate, etc. were measured in soil and water samples, respectively. Flowers were collected at the time of flower emergence from the specified areas of the fields and the desired measurements were made. The results showed that, as the soil and water analysis is relatively expensive, the M5 decision tree model has more accuracy due to the speed and lower cost than the regression model. So that, in the result of predicting the stepwise regression model, in the most ideal case and entering all the measured parameters, dry stigma weight and flower weight with correlations of 70 and 74%, respectively, and the error value is 0.23 RMSE and RMSE 16.38 were predicted. While the M5 decision tree model with lower parameters had a high capability to predict flower weight and dry stigma weight. It estimated the weight of dry stigma and flower weight with 90% correlation and error value equal to RMSE = 0.12 and RMSE = 9.4 at the end of modeling for the study area. Therefore, the M5 decision tree method is recommended in evaluating and predicting various factors on saffron yield.

This study identified the most important strategies used by saffron farmers to adapt to climate change in the Qaenat region of South Khorasan and examines the factors affecting adaptation and its barriers. For this aim, by descriptive-analytical method and using a questionnaire tool, the sample size was randomly determined from 87 villages in the rural areas of the central part of Qaen and then the factors affecting adaptation to climate change were calculated by logistic regression model. These strategies include the use of different types of products, soil protection, changes in irrigation time, and among the drivers of strategy selection can be the level of education, gender, age and assets of the head of the household; Access to credit and validity of weather information noted. The reaction of saffron growers is in three categories, without choosing adaptation, reactive adaptation and active adaptation that each saffron household chooses according to its living conditions. In addition to the behavior of working saffron households in choosing adaptation methods, the difference between understandings the effects of the consequences of climate change and profiling their livelihood strategy is important to achieve a reliable strategy. The results showed that saffron growers have chosen at least one strategy method. 72% of respondents chose active and reactive adaptation.