ANALYSIS OF AGRONOMIC EFFECTIVE FACTORS ON YIELD OF SAFFRON-BASED AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTHERN KHORASSAN

Abstract

In order to study factors affecting saffron production, a study was conducted in 2007 and 2008 in Southern Khorasan, Iran. The four locations, including Birjand, Khosf, Gazik and Mahmoei were selected as the main saffron producing areas in this region. Data of agronomic managements were collected from 100 saffron farms, aged between 1 and 5 years. Results showed that age of saffron farms, corm size, irrigation interval, and summer irrigation had positive linear relations with yield. With increasing age of farms, saffron yield was increased with a slope of 1.6 kg year -1 , reaching from 2.9 in the first year to 7.3 kg ha -1 at the fifth year. The longest irrigation intervals (24 days) were most frequently observed for Birjand and Khosf, whereas at Mahmoei and Gazik the shortest intervals (12 days) were prevalent which was contributed at their higher yields. The highest actual yield was observed for Mahmoei (5.2 kg ha -1 between all farms with different ages), which is an indicator of better farm management, such as applying more efficient irrigation and manuring practices in comparison with other areas. A mean yield of 4-6 kg ha -1 was most frequent between all farms; however some elite farmers reached yields above 7 kg ha -1 .