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Investigating the Effect of Biological and Chemical Fertilizers and Water Availability on the Leaf and Corm Element Concentrations and Stigma Quality in Saffron

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Optimization of Production and Processing of South Khorasan's Indigenous Medicinal Plants, ACECR of South Khorasan Province, Birjand, Iran.

2 MSc. of plant biology, Medicinal Plants Research Complex, ACECR of South Khorasan Province, Birjand, Iran.

3 Professor, Saffron Research Group, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran.

4 Ph.D. candidate of food industry, Department of Optimization of Production and Processing of South Khorasan's Indigenous Medicinal Plants, ACECR of South Khorasan Province, Birjand, Iran.

5 Ph.D. of food industry, Department of Optimization of Production and Processing of South Khorasan's Indigenous Medicinal Plants, ACECR of South Khorasan Province, Birjand, Iran.

6 MSc. of agronomy, Department of Optimization of Production and Processing of South Khorasan's Indigenous Medicinal Plants, ACECR of South Khorasan Province, Birjand, Iran.

7 Researcher of Saffron Institute, University of Torbat Heydarieh, Torbat Heydarieh, Iran. Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agriculture. University of Torbat Heydarieh, Torbat Heydarieh, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Iran is the world's largest producer of saffron. Given the importance of increasing saffron production and improving its quality in the face of drought conditions, it is crucial to explore the impact of replacing some common chemical fertilizers with biological fertilizers in saffron cultivation. This substitution should be studied in the context of its potential to enhance the nutritional status of the plant and the quality of stigma apocarotenoids under drought stress conditions. Such a change could have a notable effect on increasing saffron yield and preserving agricultural ecosystems while maintaining product quality.
 
Materials and Methods: The research was conducted in split plots with a basic RCBD (Randomized Complete Block Design) over two consecutive years (2020-2021 and 2021-2022) at ACECR's research complex for medicinal plants. The experimental treatments consisted of two levels of water availability (50% and 100% of saffron water requirement) and six levels of fertilizer (control, 100% NPK, 50% NPK, 50% NPK with three biofertilizers, 50% NPK with four biofertilizers, and three biofertilizers). The impact of experimental treatments on the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, and zinc in leaves and corms, as well as the quantities of three apocarotenoids - crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal - in saffron stigma were studied.
 
Results and Discussion: Due to decreaced water availability, the nitrogen levels in saffron leaves and corms rose, with the nitrogen content in saffron leaves averaging almost 15% higher than in the corms. Despite this, the phosphorus content in the corms remained unchanged under decreaced water availability, whereas the phosphorus content in the leaves decreased significantly. These findings suggest that decreaced water availability can result in reduced phosphorus levels in saffron leaves. phosphorus content in the saffron corms was almost 61% higher compared to the leaves. Potassium content in saffron leaves remained unchanged under decreaced water availability, but significantly increased in corms. Additionally, potassium content in saffron leaves was almost 13% higher than in the corms. While iron content in saffron leaves and corms was not affected by decreaced water availability, zinc content in corms and leaves decreased with decreaced water availability. In general, saffron leaves accumulated significantly higher amounts of nitrogen, potassium, iron, and zinc compared to the corms, except for phosphorus. Fertilizer treatments significantly affected the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in saffron leaves and stems, while iron and zinc levels remained unaffected. The recommended amount of chemical fertilizer treatment resulted in the highest levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in saffron leaves and stems. Since daughter corms store phosphorus effectively from chemical fertilizers and saffron yield depends on the amount of phosphorus in daughter corms, it is not advisable to completely replace chemical fertilizers with biological fertilizers. The level of potassium in saffron leaves and stems was not affected by the fertilizer treatments, suggesting that the application of fertilizer did not impact potassium absorption. Additionally, the levels of iron and zinc in the saffron leaves and stems were not significantly different from the control across all fertilizer treatments in the experiment. Overall, the most effective fertilizer treatment was using 100% of the required chemical fertilizer for saffron. This was closely followed by applying 50% of the chemical fertilizer combined with four types of biofertilizers, leading to the highest levels of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc in saffron leaves and corms.The levels of crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal in saffron stigma varied between the two years of the experiment. Specifically, the levels of crocin and picrocrocin were higher in the second year, while the level of safranal was higher in the first year. Additionally, it was observed that drought stress did not significantly impact the levels of any of the apocarotenoids examined in this study. The levels of crocin and safranal were not impacted by the use of fertilizers. However, in cases where the availability of nutrients increased (due to the application of chemical fertilizers at the recommended level, or a combination of chemical and biological fertilizers), the levels of picrocrocin decreased.
 
Conclusion: The overall conclusion is that it is possible to enhance the quality of saffron and make up for nutrient deficiencies through the concurrent application of biological and chemical fertilizers in saffron farms even under decreaced water availability. However further research is necessary to clarify the unknown aspects of this area.

Keywords

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