نشریه پژوهش های زعفران
سال یازدهم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1402)

Saffron is a permanent plant and one of the products of the eastern part of Iran, its onion can grow between 5 and 7 years, and this causes a change in the characteristics of the soil, which is very suitable for the environment. On the other hand, due to its high economic efficiency, in recent years, many activities have been carried out by relevant organizations such as Agriculture Jihad Organization (AJO) to promote its cultivation in cultivable areas. However, despite this planning and promotional activities, its cultivation has not yet been welcomed in some areas. Based on this, the purpose of this study was to explain the effects of saffron cultivation in the Mukhtar region of Boyerahmad County located in southwestern of Iran.

The purpose of this research was to explain the effects of saffron cultivation in the Mukhtar region of Boyerahmad County, for this purpose, a causal- comparative research method was used. With consultation from relevant experts, including the Provincial Agricultural Jihad Organization, the Agricultural Jihad Service Center of Southern Sarroud area, two villages named Mukhtar and Firouzabad, chosen as the villages accepted and non-accepted saffron cultivation respectively. After that, according to Kerjcie and Morgan's sampling table, 235 households were selected as a research sample, and then simple random sampling with proportional assignment were used to determine the study participants. To collect the data, a researcher- constructed questionnaire was used, and to determine the validity of the different parts of the questionnaire, the face validity method with the opinion of the relevant experts and previous research, as well as successive corrections and revisions were used. Finally, to determine the reliability of the Likert scale, Cronbach's alpha was used. Cronbach's alpha coefficient scores indicated the optimality of the questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as mean, standard deviation, paired t-test, independent t-test and covariance analysis were used to analyze quantitative data and test hypotheses. Data processing was done using SPSS software version 21 in the Windows environment.

Overall, the findings of the research showed positive economic, social and environmental effects of saffron cultivation in Mukhtar village (accepting saffron cultivation) compared to Firouzabad village (not accepting saffron cultivation). In order to be almost sure that these improvements in Mukhtar village were due to the cultivation of saffron cropping, covariance analysis was used. According to the obtained results, it can be stated that the increase and improvement in development status of the study area (including economic, social and environmental aspects) in the village accepting saffron cultivation compared to the village not accepting saffron cultivation, was the result of cultivation of the mentioned product. Other findings of the research showed that the economic effects have improved by 36% through factors such as increasing the amount of savings, more suitable sales of the product than the past, reducing the cost of planting the product, etc. Also, the social effects have improved by 41% in terms of factors such as satisfaction and welcome of buyers, creation of cooperatives, active participation in training classes, etc. In addition to these, environmental effects, through factors such as less use of fertilizers and chemical poisons, less use of underground water, etc., as a result of saffron cultivation, there has been a 23% improvement and development in the region.

In general, and according to the results of the research, the cultivation of saffron in the studied area has improved the development of the total effects about 30%. Also, the results showed that the greatest effect of saffron cultivation was in the social scope and the least effect was in the environmental scope.

Saffron is obtained from the dried red stigmas of Crocus sativus L., an autumnal herbaceous flowering plant belonging to the Iridaceae family. It is largely cultivated in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Greece, Morocco, Spain and Italy. Due to the increase of crop living stresses and side effects of chemical pesticides, recent investigations have been conducted to study herbicidal and fungicidal potential of medicinal plant such as Saffron. Saffron is one of the plants, whose allelopathic effect on various organs has been reported to affect the seed germination of some weed species. It is well known that saffron leaves and corms produce bioactive compounds. Some of these compounds have a role in the inhibition of plant growth and seed germination in their vicinity. The present research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the allelopathic and antifungal effect of extraction solution of leaves and corms of saffron (Crocus sativus) on wild mustard and Alternaria sp.
To evaluate the allelopathic and fungicidal effect of saffron leaf and corm extracts on the germination and growth characteristics wild mustard and Alternaria sp., independent factorial experiments were conducted as factorial arrangement based on the completely randomized design with four replications at the Faculty of Agriculture of Birjand University in 2022. Treatments to test the inhibitory effect of the saffron extract on weed seed germination characteristics included two types of saffron organs (leaf and corm) and seven extract concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 4 w/v %). Experimental treatments to investigate the inhibitory effect of saffron extract on the growth of Alternaria sp. fungus included two types of saffron organs (leaf and corm) and seven extract concentrations (0, 1, 0.5, 25. 0, 0.125, 0.625, and 0.0312 w/v %). The measured and calculated traits included germination percentage, germination rate, mean germination time, radicle length and weight, plumule length and weight, seedling weight and seed vigor, and wild mustard allometric coefficient, as well as the growth rate of fungi colonies.
The results showed that the type of extract has an effect on germination rate, mean germination time, radicle length and weight, shoot length and weight, seedling weight, seedling vigor, and allocation coefficient of wild mustard were significant, and the corm extract had more negative effects compared to the leaf extract. By increasing extract concentration; its effectiveness also increased as by increasing extract concentration to 4 % significant decrease in the length and weight of the radicle, the length and weight of the shoot, the weight and the length plumule of the wild mustard seedling compared to the control. The results of the interaction effect of the type of extract and the concentration of the extract on the growth characteristics of the wild mustard primary seedling showed that the lowest root length, fresh and dry weight of the root, stem length and fresh and dry weight of the stem, the weight of the seedling and the root of the plant related to the concentration of 4 % root extract. 75.2, 68.7, 68.4, 68.7, 75.2, 75.4, 73.5, and 72.3 percent decrease compared to the control, respectively, while the reduction values of root length, fresh weight and root dry weight, stem length and stem wet and dry weight, seedling weight and seedling stem in the case of leaf extract are 48.2, 46.7, 44, 48, 48.8, 46.8, 47.4 and 47 respectively. It was a percentage. The results of the interaction effect of the treatments showed that on the ninth and twelve days, concentrations of 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1% of corm extract and 1% concentration of leaf extract inhibited 100% of Alternaria fungus growth.
Finally, the results of these experiments showed that the effect of inhibiting the germination and growth of wild mustard as well as the antifungal effect is greater in saffron corm extract than in leaf extract. Therefore, considering the results of this research and conducting more research in the field of allelopathic and fungicidal effects of saffron organ extracts, we can proceed to produce natural herbicides and fungicides.

Nowadays, according to the growing concerns of using synthetic colors in food, the use of natural pigments is of particular importance. Saffron crocin is one of the valuable natural coloring compounds with favorable coloring properties, which is subjected to decomposition and destruction more than other water-soluble carotenoid pigments due to its high degree of unsaturation. For the purpose of oxidative stability of compounds such as crocin, methods such as encapsulation are important to preserve it during processing. Due to its high solubility and low viscosity, maltodextrin is one of the most important and widely used carrier compounds used in the drying process of fruit and vegetable extracts. In this research, maltodextrin was used as a carrier for encapsulation of the effective compounds of saffron by spray drying and freeze-drying methods, and the physicochemical characteristics of both types of powder obtained were compared with the control sample.
 
Sargol saffron was purchased from Mashhad market and maltodextrin (DE = 18-20) was obtained from Sigma company. For extraction, ground saffron was mixed with distilled water in a shaker incubator for 16 hours, and then the mixture was placed in a rotary evaporator at 55 degrees Celsius for concentration. In order to prepare encapsulated samples, 10% maltodextrin was first prepared and mixed well with 250 ml of aqueous saffron extract. Then, the prepared solutions were dried with a spray dryer at an inlet air temperature of 180 degrees Celsius and a feeding pump speed of 10 ml/min, and once again using freeze dryer. The control sample without maltodextrin coating was also freeze-dried. After preparing the treatments, moisture, water activity, mass density, determination of effective saffron compounds, solubility, total anthocyanin content was performed on them and finally, saffron syrup was prepared with the formula of 1% powder of each sample and 4% sugar for sensory evaluation by the method of 5 hedonic points.
 
The results showed that the amount of moisture and water activity of the powders prepared by freeze drying method was significantly lower and was 2% and 0.15 respectively (P<0.05). Also, the effective ingredients of the control sample were more than the encapsulated samples by spray drying and freeze-drying methods, and the freezing samples retained higher crocin and picrocrocin than safranal. On the other hand, the higher density (202 kg/m3) of the control sample and its lower solubility (85%) were significantly evident among the treatments. The amount of total anthocyanin in the control sample was the highest (172 mg/100gr), and the encapsulated sample using the freeze-drying method retained higher anthocyanin than the spray drying method. The sensory evaluation of the prepared syrups also indicated a better general acceptance of the syrup prepared with frozen sample compared to the syrup prepared sprayed sample.
 
In general, in this research, the amount of moisture in the samples dried by spraying and freezing methods was significantly reduced compared to the control sample. Also, the amount of moisture and water activity in the freeze dryer's samples was lower than the spray dryer. The effect of the encapsulation method on the bulk density was significant, so that with the addition of maltodextrin, the bulk density decreased in both samples, and this reduction was greater in the frozen sample than in the sprayed sample. The amount of solubility in the samples dried by both methods was almost the same. The amount of anthocyanin in the freeze-dried sample was higher than that of the spraying method, and this difference was significant. Finally, the sensory evaluation results showed that in all parameters, evaluators gave a higher score to the drink sample with powder dried in a freeze dryer. In general, it can be said that in this study, the encapsulated samples obtained by freeze drying method had more suitable characteristics than the samples obtained by spray drying method.

Saffron and pistachio are exceptional plants that, while requiring little water, have good economic efficiency and currency earning, and considering the deprivation of significant parts of Khorasan and lack of water in them, it is one of the factors that encourage and perpetuate hardworking farmers. This region is suitable to saffron and pistachio cultivation. According to the available statistics, in 2010, the area under saffron cultivation in our country reached 72162 hectares, and with this amount, our country is the largest producer of saffron in the world. In this regard, Roshtkhwar county in Razavi Khorasan province is one of the prominent counties in saffron and pistachio production. The evaluation of the impact of various factors affecting the cultivation of saffron and pistachio in this county confirms that the parts located in Roshtkhar county have the necessary conditions for planting and increasing the area under cultivation of these products. In the present research, the villages of Roshtkhar village located in Razavi Khorasan province have been taken into consideration as examples and witnesses. Saffron and pistachio, as the two main products of this rural district, have started a fierce competition for allocating more land than other crops such as wheat, barley, and white onion in rural district for nearly a decade. Cultivation of two crops, pistachio and saffron, together has created opportunities for the farmers of this region. Therefore, this research tries to investigate the production status of pistachio and saffron currency converter products and its effects in the rural households of Roshtkhar rural district.

Roshtkhar rural district has 26 inhabited villages, from the north and west to Torbat Heydarieh county, from the east and southeast to Khaf county and from the south to Gonabad county.This research has been done by descriptive-analytical method. Field research studies have been conducted at the village and household level. In this regard, the production status and effects of saffron and pistachio were investigated in 383 saffron and pistachio farming households living in 26 villages of this village. Data collection has been done based on selected indicators and using village and household questionnaires. Statistical analyzes and TOPSIS, SPSS and ArcGIS software were also used for data analysis.

The findings of the research on the frequency distribution of farmers based on the type of their crops for the past five years show that before pistachio cultivation, 30.8% of farmers cultivated wheat and 23.2% of them cultivated white onion along with saffron.On the other hand, the frequency distribution of farmers in the studied samples based on the area of land under pistachio cultivation indicates that currently 31.4% of farmers have one to one and a half hectares of land under pistachio cultivation. Also, 18.1% of them also have one to one and a half hectares of land under saffron cultivation.Statistical analysis has been used to compare the cultivated area of valuable pistachio and saffron crops in two groups of villages with lower and higher impact intensity. The results of the Mann-Whitney test show that there is a significant difference between these villages at the 99% confidence level. Based on this, the villages that have more cultivated and production areas, the effects of these extremely income-generating products (such as increasing the motivation to stay in the village, the desire for reverse migration from the city to the village and financial participation for the development of the village) are more compared to other villages.

It can be inferred from the results of the research, considering that the water resources in this village are becoming more limited and at the same time, the water resources in some villages are becoming saline. In this way, the challenges of saffron production increase. On the other hand, due to the greater resistance of pistachio to water shortage and at the same time its greater tolerance to salty water sources, the future challenges caused by the above changes for saffron cultivation are a new opportunity to replace pistachio instead of saffron. Therefore, while the challenges for saffron production will intensify in the future at the level of the studied villages, it seems that it will provide a new opportunity to replace the pistachio product instead of the saffron product at the level of Roshtkhwar rural district.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is one of the most expensive and unique spices in the world and is probably the result of the mutation of the wild plant Crocus cartwrightiamus and belongs to the family of lilies. Today, the issue of organic agriculture is discussed, in which, in addition to the quantity of production, special attention is paid to quality, stability, and sustainability in production. Therefore, organic fertilizers can be a good substitute for these materials in biological agriculture. Seaweed extract is one of the major renewable sources of seas in the world, it contains elements of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and some micronutrients (iron, copper, zinc, cobalt, molybdenum, manganese), growth hormones (auxin and cytokinin), vitamins and amino acids and it stimulates the growth and development and increases the performance of plants. Potassium also plays key roles in many physiological and biochemical processes such as photosynthesis, protein production, sugar production and transport, activation of more than 60 types of enzymes, regulation of osmotic and ionic potential, regulation of opening and closing of stomata, and formation of phloem vessels. To investigate the effect of potassium sulfate and seaweed, an experiment was performed on vegetative growth, yield, and corm saffron. 

This experiment was carried out in the 2018 and 2019 years as factorial and the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications in Sarayan City of South Khorasan province. Experimental factors included four levels of potassium sulfate (0, 100, 200, and 300 kg ha-1) and three levels of seaweed (0, 1, and 2 per thousand). Before conducting the test and preparation operations, random soil sampling was done from a depth of 0-30 cm for the soil analysis test (Table 1). Plots were created with a length of two meters and a width of one meter. The distance between the plots was 50 cm, and the distance between the blocks was 1.5 meters, including the streams used to irrigate the plots. On the specified dates, the corms were removed from the mother farm, and after preparation and disinfection with benomyl fungicide with a concentration of two per thousand, they were planted in the field on the same day according to the plan (only corms with weight eight to 10 grams were used for planting). To apply foliar treatment with seaweed fertilizer, after preparing the solutions with desired concentrations, foliar spraying was done using a backpack sprayer and after calibrating it. Simultaneously with the beginning of flowering (late November 2018), the flowers of each plot were collected daily from the entire surface of the plots. Statistical analysis of data was done using SAS 9.4 software. A comparison of average data was also made using a protected LSD test at a five percent probability level. 

The results showed a significant effect of the treatments used on the studied traits, The highest number of flowers per square meter, yield of fresh flowers, fresh and dry stigma yield, and mean number of buds with flowering potential in each corm in the second year and the highest leaf length, weight fresh and dry leaves, total number and weight of corms, mean weight of each corm and mean weight of the original girl corms were obtained in both years at 300 kg ha-1 treatment of potassium sulfate. In addition, the results show a significant effect of seaweed (two per thousand) on the number of flowers per square meter, yield of fresh flowers, fresh and dry stigma yield in the second year, and leaf length, fresh and dry leaf weight, total weight of corms, mean weight of each corm and mean weight of the original girl corms in both years. Total weight of corms and weight of coriander more than 12 g in the first year and number of flowers per square meter, yield of fresh flowers, yield of fresh stigmas in the second year, and fresh leaf weight in both years in 300 kg h-1 treatment of potassium sulfate and the concentration of two per thousand seaweed had the highest increase. Also, the highest average weight of each corm in both years was obtained in the treatment of 200 kg ha-1 of potassium sulfate and a concentration of two per thousand seaweeds. 

According to the results of this study, the use of potassium sulfate fertilizer (300 kg h-1) and seaweed (two per thousand) alone can play an effective role in increasing vegetative growth, yield, and corm saffron, but their simultaneous use will be more effective.

Today, the use of organic and mineral additives in the soil for better product performance and higher efficiency of water consumption is expanding in the world. Saffron, like other agricultural plants, in order to make maximum use of the potential of the environment, in addition to suitable weather and soil conditions, requires optimal agricultural management to achieve maximum yield and increase the duration of the exploitation period of saffron fields. Considering the importance and value of saffron, the purpose of this research is to investigate the use of Biochar and dehydration stress on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of saffron performance so that it does not have a negative effect on the economic value, food, health and market needs of the product at the global level.

Torbat-Heydarieh city is located at 59 degrees 12 minutes east longitude and 34 degrees 17 minutes north latitude at an altitude of 1333 meters above sea level. research in the form of a randomized complete block design with two factors of biological production biochar (without applying biochar B0, applying 10 tons per hectare B1 and applying 15 tons per hectare B2) and dehydration stress (S0 without applying stress, S1 applying stress around irrigation) Done. Statistical analysis of the data was done using DSTAT software and graphs were drawn using EXCEL software. Also, comparison of means was done using Duncan's test at the level of 5 percent probability.

  Based on the results, the highest and lowest quantitative values for the attributes of flower number are 74.7 and 32.7 flowers per square meter, fresh flower weight (it is the simplest measurement parameter of saffron flower among farmers and it is considered the first criterion for farm performance) The amount of 20.8 and 8.8 grams per square meter and the dry weight of the stigma (it is the same as saffron threads and is known as the most important part of the saffron flower) the amount of 0.41 and 0.12 grams per square meter, respectively, for B0S1 And B2S1 treatments resulted. the yield increase between the minimum and maximum yield of the traits of number of flowers, fresh flower weight and stigma dry weight was observed by 130, 120 and 350%, respectively. The results showed that the research treatments had a sinusoidal graph during the flowering period, so that in the treatments of applying 10 tons per hectare of biochar and 15 tons per hectare of biochar, the graphs had different fluctuations from the control treatment (without applying biochar). The mean square results showed that the quantitative traits (number of flowers, fresh flower weight and stigma dry weight) of saffron have a significant relationship at the 1% probability level when comparing two factors, and the mean square results of the qualitative traits (Picrocrocin, crocin, safranal and moisture) of saffron in The comparison of two factors became non-significant. The results showed that the highest values for the qualitative traits of picrocrocin and crocin, the B2S1 treatment was obtained with values of 237 and 82 (maximum absorption), respectively, among the research treatments.

The use of biochar as an active carbon source in the first year of cultivation has had slight changes in yields and better results have been obtained for stressed yields. There have been minor changes for qualitative traits. In general, the stress of water scarcity and the application of biochar did not have a bad effect on the yield of saffron, and it should be checked for the next years as well.

Saffron, a spice derived from the Crocus sativus flowers is used as a coloring agent along with its medicinal application. Pampore area in Kashmir valley is famous for saffron cultivation and is one of the major saffron cultivation areas in the world. In the present study we aimed to isolate and characterize the phosphate solubilizing micro-flora from saffron soils of Pampore (9 sites were selected). The site selection was done based on the slope and altitude of the study region i.e. elevated (location with higher altitude but lower slope), sloppy (location with median altitude than elevated and plains but higher slope) and plain (location with lower altitude and lower slope. Four types of arbuscular mycorrhizae were isolated from the soils of saffron fields by Gerdemann & Nicolson technique. The genera isolated were identified as Glomus, Acaulospora, Scutellospora and Gigaspora. Glomus and Acaulospora were pre-dominant. The highest spore population was found in summer (11.3/g soil) as compared to winter due to the congenial temperature in summer. Root colonization was more (79.9 %) in less phosphorus containing soils. The phosphatase activity was high in summer (37 µgp-NP/g/ha) than winter and maximum values were found in sloppy areas ascertained to minimum phosphorus in these soils. The phosphorus solubilizing bacteria was maximum in summer (18.5 × 105 CFU/g) than in winter and the maximum values were found in plain soils exhibiting the presence of more arbuscular mycorrhizae. The present study concludes that VAM species can act as good bio-fertilizers in order to improve the production of Saffron in Kashmir Valley by demanding more attention to the microbial population of saffron soils and without the use of chemical fertilizers which pollute our soil as well as our environment.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most expensive agricultural product and one of the most valuable medicinal and spice plants that have many uses in the food and medicine industries. Iran is the largest producer and exporter of saffron in the world, and about 90% of the world's annual saffron production is produced in Iran, mainly in Razavi Khorasan and South Khorasan provinces. A balanced supply of nutrients is one of the main important factors in the sustainable saffron production, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Potassium and sulfur, as two essential and widely used elements, play a significant role in the synthesis of proteins, activating enzymes, transferring sugar, increasing carbon dioxide absorption and photosynthesis. Seaweed extract is also one of the compounds that stimulate plant growth and the quality of products. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of potassium sulfate and seaweed extract on the stigma quality and the content of leaf photosynthetic pigments.

This experiment was carried out in the growing seasons of 2018 and 2019, as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications, in Sarayan, Iran. Experimental factors were four levels of potassium sulfate (0, 100, 200, and 300 kg ha-1) and three levels of Acadian seaweed (0, 1, and 2 per thousand). Before conducting the experiment, soil sampling was done from a depth of 0-30 cm (Table 1). Plots dimension was 2×1 m, with for planting rows in each. The distance between the plots was 0.5 m and between the blocks was 1.5 m. Before planting, the corms (8-10 g) were disinfection with benomyl fungicide. Potassium sulfate applied simultaneously with corms planting. For application of seaweed extract, after preparing the solutions with desired concentrations, foliar spraying was done using a sprayer three times in 20th February and 5th and 20th March, 2018. The flowers in the first growing season (autumn of 2017), were not harvested, because the treatments were not yet fully applied. Simultaneously with the beginning of flowering, in the second flowering season (in late November 2018), the flowers of each plot were collected daily. The stigmas were dried under laboratory condition at the shade for a week. Then, the qualitative parameters of stigma (anthocyanin, antioxidant, phenol, crocin, picrocrocin and safranal) were measured. In addition, during vegetative growth, the content of photosynthetic pigments (carotenoids, chlorophylls a, b and total) of leaves were determined. Statistical analysis of data was done using SAS 9.4 software. Means were compared using a protected LSD test at the 5% level of probability.

The interaction effect of experimental factors was significant on the content of picrocrocin, safranal and antioxidant of stigma as well as the amount of chlorophyll and carotenoid in the leaves. The highest amounts of picrocrocin, safranal and antioxidant activity were obtained in the combined application of 300 kg ha-1 potassium sulfate + foliar spraying of seaweed extract with a concentration of 2 per thousand, which were respectively, 32.8, 23.9 and 21.1% more than the control treatment (no use of potassium sulfate and seaweed extract). The highest values of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids (0.17, 0.037, 1.99 and 1.01 mg g-1 FW, respectively) were gained with the combined application potassium sulfate (100 to 300 kg ha-1) plus seaweed extract (1-2 per thousand), which were 54.4, 60.8, 131.3 and 68.3% higher than the control, respectively. The simple effect of experimental factors was significant on crocin and anthocyanin content of stigma. Increasing the application rate of potassium sulfate from 0 to 300 kg ha-1, improved the amount of crocin by three times and the amount of anthocyanin by 8.9%. In addition, the amount of crocin and anthocyanin in the condition of seaweed extract application (concentration of 2 parts per thousand) was 166.7 and 12.7% higher than the control (no-seaweed application).

Based on the results of this research, the combined application of potassium sulfate and seaweed extract is recommended to improve the biochemical properties and bioactive compounds of saffron.