Nutritional ValueSaffronand how Iran produces this precious red gold
Saffron is a valuable spice and coloring agent with a unique aroma and scent. It is also beneficial for treating certain diseases. This plant grows in southwest Asia, southern Spain, and southern Europe, but Iran is a leading producer of saffron. In this section, you can learn more fromSelMagzabout the plant saffron, its nutritional value, and health benefits.
Saffron is a perennial plant with a bulb enclosed in a skin.CoffeeThis plant has a stem, six violet petals, and three red stigmas. The flower parts used for consumption are the orange stigmas, which contain plenty of fats, minerals, and mucilage. This plant reproduces from underground corms (bulbs).
The flavor of saffron comes from the bitter heterocyclic compound picrocrocin. The presence of crocin causes saffron’s color. The color and aroma are provided by a colorless terpene-based oil called safranal, along with oxygenated compounds like cineole, which give saffron its distinctive smell.
Nutrition Value of Saffron
Saffron is a calming and appetite-enhancing spice that helps prevent heart disease and cancer, and treat some conditions like asthma, skin diseases, eye problems, urinary infections, jaundice, early menstruation, and indigestion.Bloatingand stomach remediesstomach painand treatmentAnemiaThis famous red gold reduces blood fats and cholesterol,and lowers blood pressurewhile also strengthening memory.
Saffron Cultivation Stages
Saffron should be planted between July and October, in a moderate climate with careful attention.
This tropical plant grows well in areas with hot, dry, sunny summers, and relatively mild autumns and winters. However, it can also grow successfully in colder regions like Hamadan. The active growing season is from November to May, and during summer, the saffron bulbs become dormant, with leaves turning yellow and drying out,
and the plant rests until the next cycle.BulbTherefore, hot and dry lands are not suitable for saffron cultivation.
Preparing Soil for Saffron Cultivation
Deep plowing of the land is done in autumn or winter for saffron planting, especially if tractors are not available, typically at the end of spring or early July.
In mechanized farming, deep plowing occurs in the fall before planting, followed by weed removal and soil aeration in spring after spring rains, with the addition of 40–80 tons of animal manure and 200 kg of ammonium phosphate in August or September to prepare the land for planting saffron bulbs.
Suitable Soil for Growing Saffron
The best soil for saffron is sandy-loam with a bit of calcium carbonate and a pH of 7 to 8. The land should have been free of saffron for several years, be free of weeds, fertile, and well-drained.
Optimal Time for Saffron Planting
Saffron is best planted from August to October. Once planted, the bulbs will germinate and produce flowers without needing replanting for 4 to 7, sometimes up to 10, years.
Planting Process for Saffron Bulbs:
Using a spade, prepare planting pits in one row, placing 3 to 15 bulbs per hole with the pointed end facing up. Bulbs should be planted at a depth of 15-20 cm to protect from winter cold and summer heat, ensuring better survival.
Growing saffron with a team of 4-5 people involves one person digging holes with a spade, two selecting healthy, large bulbs in groups of 3-5 or 15, and the fourth placing bulbs into the holes, repeating until all are planted. Then, level and compact the soil with a rake or tamping tool to ensure the bulbs contact the soil properly. The land is left until fall for watering, with 10-20 tons of well-rotted manure and a small amount of fertilizer spread beforehand. The planting furrows are covered with soil afterward.
Quantity and Type of Saffron Bulbs:
When buying saffron bulbs, ensure they are large, healthy, lesion-free, fresh, about 7 years old, and free from disease. Remove any extra skins or sprouted parts. To prevent pests and diseases, soak 300-500 grams of bulbs per 100 kg in mercurial-based chemicals like Serzan, Tretizan, or Granosal before planting.
For each hectare, about 2 tons of bulbs are needed. After the seventh year, bulbs must be replaced because the plant weakens, and the bulbs become hollow or rot. The amount of bulbs harvested in the seventh year is five times the initial planting amount.
Types and Amount of Fertilizer for Saffron:
One hectare requires 30-50 tons of well-decomposed manure and 200 kg of chemical fertilizers like phosphate and potassium. Fresh manure should not be used. Every three years, 100 kg of urea and 10-15 tons of manure are added to improve soil fertility.
Watering After Saffron Planting
If the field has been watered before planting, no immediate watering is needed after planting. However, if the site was dry, watering should be done immediately after planting. Saffron is drought-tolerant. The first fall watering should occur 15 days before the flowers emerge.
If the soil is watered before October, the leaves will appear first, followed by flowers, making harvesting difficult, as flowers stay hidden among leaves and can be lost or damaged.
Saffron prefers dry conditions, so it does not need much water. From planting until harvesting, watering once is enough. Extra watering in winter can enlarge the bulbs.
Crumb Soil: Planting the bulbs on well-broken ground after the first watering helps prevent damage to the bulbs. Crumbling soil facilitates flower emergence and mixes manure with soil. Before irrigation, distribute necessary fertilizer over the soil, then lightly till the surface to integrate the fertilizer and soil.
Weed Control and Maintenance After Harvesting
After harvesting saffron, weeds must be removed to prevent competition for water, nutrients, and sunlight, which reduce yield. Weeds also cause pests and diseases. Regular weeding is necessary, starting after the second watering, to eliminate weeds effectively.
The first weeding is done after flowering, and the second about a month before the third watering.
Herbicides are not recommended because their effects on saffron are untested and could harm the crop.
Harvesting Saffron:
In the first year, only the large, well-nourished bulbs that have flowered will produce a crop; overall, yield will be low. Flowers appear in mid-November, with purple blossoms showing three weeks after emergence, and harvesting begins. Flowers bloom early in the cold and autumn, turning the saffron fields into beautiful landscapes. Harvest should start before sunrise and continue until 9 a.m., lasting about 15-25 days.The flowers of saffron appear as temperatures drop, creating a beautiful scene, when all plants cease flowering. Harvesting must be done before dawn to preserve quality. Flower picking spans from 15 to 25 days.Growing SaffronGrowing Iran’s Red GoldSaffron
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