Detailed Analysis of Saffron Cultivation Methods and Prospects

Saffron is also known as West Saffron or Fan Saffron (Crocus sativus), with long strip-shaped leaves and deep-colored flowers. In China, most cultivation adopts the method of propagating corms in the field and harvesting flowers indoors, which saves labor and effort, and produces filaments with high effective ingredients and excellent quality. What are the saffron cultivation methods? Are the prospects promising?

I. Saffron Cultivation Methods

1. Treatment of Corms

Plant the corms from which the filaments have been harvested into the field in mid-November. Before planting the corms, soak them in a 500-600 times dilution of 25% carbendazim solution for 20 minutes to prevent pests and diseases.

2. Land Preparation

Saffron prefers crop rotation and avoids continuous cropping. Choose sandy plots with good drainage and loose, fertile soil. The previous crop is best if it was legumes, corn, rice or similar crops. Saffron is a fibrous-rooted shallow-root plant, so applying sufficient base fertilizer is very important. Apply 4000-5000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu. When fertilizing, pay attention to spreading the fertilizer evenly on the ground.

3. Making Beds

Incorporate the base fertilizer into the soil while plowing, then break up the soil finely and level it. Dig furrow beds running north-south, with a bed width of 1 m, a height of 20 cm, and a spacing between beds of 30-40 cm. The advantage of bed cultivation is that it increases soil aeration, making root rot less likely, and in cold weather it also facilitates covering with plastic film, improving the warming and moisture-retaining effects of the film cover. Open furrows on the bed surface, with a furrow depth of about 8 cm. The furrow spacing is about 20 cm, and then the corms can be planted.

4. Planting Corms

Saffron is propagated by corms. Many main buds and side buds grow on the corm; the main bud flowers while the side buds do not flower. Each bud can form a small corm, and the mother corm can grow 6-15 small corms. If the buds are not removed, the number of small corms increases and flower yield becomes lower and lower. Before planting, according to the principle of keeping the large and removing the small, and keeping the strong and removing the weak, remove excess side buds. Saffron cultivation requires a relatively large amount of corms, about 500 kg per mu. The row spacing is 15-20 cm, the plant spacing is 10 cm, and the depth is 3—6 cm. Place the main bud of the corm upward and cover with soil and press firm. Reasonable depth is also an effective measure to increase filament yield, because it not only satisfies corm growth but can also inhibit the sprouting of new side buds. After planting is completed, water once thoroughly to give the corms enough water supply for growth. After 5-7 days, apply human and livestock manure together with water once more, applying 3000-4000 kg per mu to encourage the corms to root early.

5. Film Covering

In late November, if the weather is below 5 degrees, it is time to cover with film. Cover with plastic film and press it firm with clods of soil, which serves to prevent freezing and raise soil temperature, and can also reduce weed growth and promote corm growth.

6. Film Removal

From late February to early March, as temperatures rise and the corms enter the greening stage, the film can be removed. Clean up the removed film thoroughly to avoid polluting the environment.

7. Cultivation

After removing the film, loosen the soil and hoe weeds in a timely manner. The depth of cultivation should be 2-3 cm, and care must be taken not to damage the roots of the plants during cultivation.

8. Topdressing

The greening stage of the corms is also the period when daughter corms rapidly enlarge and gain weight. After removing the film, topdress in a timely manner, applying 3000-4000 kg of human and livestock manure per mu together with watering, and topdress once more half a month later. In March-April, generally spray 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves once every 10-15 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays, to promote rapid corm growth.

9. Removal of Side Buds

In April, saffron enters the late stage of field growth. If side buds are found growing, remove them promptly to avoid affecting the growth of the large corms.

10. Pest and Disease Control

After saffron turns green, the main disease is rot disease, and the main pest is the Robin bulb mite. The control method is to spray the roots of the plants with a 500 times dilution of 25% carbendazim after removing the film. If aphids appear on the leaves, dimethoate can be used for control.

11. Harvest

In mid-to-late May, when the aboveground branches and leaves of saffron turn yellow, the corms can be harvested. At harvest, dig up the corm roots with a hoe, remove the branches, leaves and residual roots after digging out, dry them in the field for two days, and then store them indoors. Store in a ventilated, cool place.

II. Cultivation Prospects of Saffron

A small flower with an extraordinary status. Although it looks inconspicuous, it is a precious medicinal material, a valuable raw material for beauty cosmetics and spices, and also a precious ornamental flower. At present, saffron cultivation has a history of more than 40 years, but China's cultivation area is only about 5000 mu, and demand far exceeds supply, so every year supply is maintained through imports. Therefore, the author believes that the prospects for cultivating saffron are quite good, but the investment is also quite high. It is understood that the investment per mu is more than 30,000, and the cultivation risk is also extremely high. If you cannot understand the situation, it is not recommended to cultivate it!

If cultivation is successful, the income is about 100,000 yuan per mu, and adding the income from flower stamens, the gross profit per mu is about 150,000 yuan. Saffron income is mainly divided into flower stamens and corms. After the flower stamens are dried, they are about more than 10,000 yuan per jin. The most profitable part is the corms. They look like garlic, and if grown for two years.