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Saffron Cultivation
- Thread starter ckrajesh
- Start date
HI
I have not heard about commercial cultivation of saffron in south INdia, if interested you can try cultivation. SAffron is cultivated mostly in the himalayas.
The cultivation of saffron needs an extreme climate; hot and dry weather in summer and cold in winter.
The land must be dry, calcareous, aired, flat and without trees. Attributes that the Meseta of Castilla-La Mancha has, which has made it one of the most important production areas in the world.
The soil must be equilibrated in organic material in order to avoid risks of erosion, and have some depth that allows the water to drain so that the bulb is not damaged.
The sowing takes place in the months of June and July. The bulbs are placed in ridges of about 20 cm. depth. The distance between the bulbs should be of 10 cm.
The sowing of bulbs is a very hard job because it is done by hand, and forces you to walk in a bent position for hundreds of yards. A mule follows the sower with a roman plough to cover the ridges.
The harvesting takes place between the end of October-beginning of November. The rose of saffron blooms at dawn and should stay the least possible time in the plant because it withers quickly and the stigmas loose color and aroma. This is why they are gathered between dawn and 10 a.m.
Once the flowers are gathered, stigmas are separated from the rest of the flower. The fact that more than 85.000 flowers are needed to obtain just one kilo of saffron gives us an idea of how hard this work is.
REgards
Ashwini
I have not heard about commercial cultivation of saffron in south INdia, if interested you can try cultivation. SAffron is cultivated mostly in the himalayas.
The cultivation of saffron needs an extreme climate; hot and dry weather in summer and cold in winter.
The land must be dry, calcareous, aired, flat and without trees. Attributes that the Meseta of Castilla-La Mancha has, which has made it one of the most important production areas in the world.
The soil must be equilibrated in organic material in order to avoid risks of erosion, and have some depth that allows the water to drain so that the bulb is not damaged.
The sowing takes place in the months of June and July. The bulbs are placed in ridges of about 20 cm. depth. The distance between the bulbs should be of 10 cm.
The sowing of bulbs is a very hard job because it is done by hand, and forces you to walk in a bent position for hundreds of yards. A mule follows the sower with a roman plough to cover the ridges.
The harvesting takes place between the end of October-beginning of November. The rose of saffron blooms at dawn and should stay the least possible time in the plant because it withers quickly and the stigmas loose color and aroma. This is why they are gathered between dawn and 10 a.m.
Once the flowers are gathered, stigmas are separated from the rest of the flower. The fact that more than 85.000 flowers are needed to obtain just one kilo of saffron gives us an idea of how hard this work is.
REgards
Ashwini
saleem7747
Member
Here you go, anyway you have to wait atleast two years before you see your saffron in the market from the date of production
, Do you want to do.Saffron (Crocus sativus var kashmiriana) is a very important high value low volume condiment and a cash crop of Kashmir. Its cultivation started around 550 AD. As late as 1997-98 area under saffron in Jammu & Kashmir was about 5704 ha. Saffron being a rainfed crop suffered due to droughts like situation in the Valley, 1999-2003. As a result both area as well as productivity has reduced. It is predominantly cultivated in Pampore area of Pulwama district; some is grown in Kishtwar area of Doda district and some pockets in Budgam district. During drought period productivity reduced from about 3.0 kg/ha to 1.5 kg/ha in 2003. However, favorable rainfall during 2004-2005 situations improved and saffron production was 125 q with productivity increased to 2.5 kg/ha. Current area under saffron is 3885 ha. Average holding of saffron farmer in Pampore is 0.56 ha. Experiments on increasing saffron productivity by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir through irrigation during reproductive phase @ 70 m3/ha every 7-10 days; application of nutrients, 20 t/ha of organic manure along with 30 : 20 : 15 NPK, use of corms of 10 g or larger yielded 3.5 kg/ha. Planting cycle in vogue is too long 7-10 years which if reduced to 4-5 years can reduce incidence of corm rot, one of the factors responsible for loss of productivity and net returns. Government of J&K proposes to launch a horizontal expansion of saffron cultivation in all the six districts of Kashmir Valley and the Kishtwar area of district Doda. Saffron is cultivated exclusively on Karewa (geological silt deposits) at an altitude ranging between 1600 to 1750m amsl.
Cost benefit analysis of saffron cultivation depending upon productivity ranges between 1:0.69–1:1.39. Cost input in cultivation of saffron is very high labor component accounts for 47 % and inputs 53 %. Labor in monetary terms on average comes to Rs 87,250/ha (1783.3 US$/ha). It is rather excessive (Tables 1, 2), demanding mechanization through appropriate tools, implements and machines which not only reduce excessive labor but remove drudgery so that educated new generation continues to practice saffron cultivation. Mechanization can also bring precision in metering and placement of inputs, help reduce unit cost of production and enhance productivity.