AGRONOMIC ATTRIBUTES OF SAFFRON YIELD AT AGROECOSYSTEMS SCALE IN IRAN

In order to study effective factors in the production of Saffron, a series of studies was carried out during 2001 and 2002. In these studies, four selected location were spoted: Birjand, Qaen, Gonabad and Torbat-Haydarieh, as the main saffron producing areas in Iran. All the information calculated is based on collected data from 160 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 relationship with yield. Age of saffron farms had the most pronounced effects on yield and was the most important component in all linear equations. Age of farms, irrigation intervals and corm size were major factors contributing to yield. The longest irrigation interval was observed for Gonabad (24 days) and the shortest were for Torbat-Haydarieh (12 days). The highest actual yield was for Torbat-Haydarieh which is an indication of better farm management in comparison with other areas. A maximum yield of 4 kg/ha was frequent but many farms produced over 7 kg/ha yield.