High density planting and manure affect flower yield, corm characteristics, and volatile compounds of saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

Abstract

Special attention to the importance of medicinal plants in the world today in the agricultural, health and economic sectors is undeniable. Saffron is known as a very important medicinal and spice plant in the world. To study the response of the saffron plant to dense corm planting and different levels of manure, a two-year experiment was conducted in a split-plot complete block design with three replicates at Research Farm of University of Gonabad, Iran, during 2016–2019. The main factor consisted of 5, 10, and 15 cm spacing between plants on rows, and the sub-factor consisted of control (no manure) and application of 20, 40, and 60 t ha−1 cow manure. The results showed that the maximum fresh flower yield in the first production year (74.5 kg ha−1) was achieved in the 40 t ha−1 treatment under 5-cm corm spacing. In the second production year, maximum fresh flower yield (161.2 kg ha−1) was obtained from the 60 t ha−1 manure treatment under 5-cm spacing. The highest dry stigma yield (2.04 and 2.69 kg ha−1, in the first and second production year respectively) were obtained in plots with high planting density (5 cm spacing) and 60 t ha−1 manure application. The highest daughter corm weights (3.18 and 3.23 g, in the first and second production year respectively) were obtained from the lowest corm planting density (15 cm). The 60 t ha−1 manure application resulted in the highest values for almost all traits. Therefore, to achieve suitable economic yield in saffron cultivation, application of 60 t ha−1 cow manure under 20 × 5 cm planting density is suggested for areas with similar climatic and edaphic conditions to this experiment.