Effect of moisture stress on yield and qualitative indices of saffron(Crocus sativus L.)

Hosseini, Mohammad; Rahimi, Hossein

doi:10.22077/jsr.2018.687

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohammad Hosseini ¹
Hossein Rahimi ²

¹ Research Institute of Food Science and Technology(RIFST)

² Research Center and Education of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Khorasan Razavi-Mashhad

https://doi.org/10.22077/jsr.2018.687

Abstract

In order to study effects of moisture stress on saffron flowering, yield and quality this research was conducted in 2012 and 2013 at the Experimental Farm of Research Station of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Gonabad county. This experiment was arranged as RCBD with five treatments(70% field capacity,60% FC,50% FC,C1 and C2) and four replicates. Quantitative traits under study included no. of flowers, fresh weight of flowers, dry weight of stigma, no. of sister corms at the end of experiment, corm weights at the end of experiment, amount of corm covering and dry weight of leaves and qualitative traits were picrocrocin, crocin and safranal. Results showed that by increasing moisture stress, quantitative traits of saffron decreased and its qualitative indices increased. By increasing moisture stress rate of quantitative traits decreased that has been repeatedly reported in other crops. On the other hand, rise of moisture stress is along with accumulation of plant ingredients and it emphasizes on negative correlation between quantitative and qualitative traits and corm no. and weight have decreased by increasing moisture stress. Flower no./m² in FC 70% was higher than other treatments. Dry weight of saffron that is economical saffron was also higher than other treatments in FC 70% that it has shown a significant difference with the treatment of four times of irrigation. In the treatment 70% most traits showed superiority relative to other treatments but was not significant and as four times of irrigation is more logical it is recommended to saffron farmers. Four times of irrigation is the local tradition from the past that is supplemented with a further irrigation in mid-summer that has beneficial effects on saffron yield.

Keywords

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