Investigation on the Effect of Location and Field Age on Yield and Frequency of Different Corm Weights of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

In order to study the effect of location and age of farms on corm yield, tonies weight, tonies and frequency of different corm weight classes, an experiment was conducted on the basis of nested design as CRD with three replications in saffron growing areas of Torbat-e-Heidarieh, Zaveh, and Boshrooyeh. In this experiment, three replications of corms samples (each 1m2) were taken from different saffron field ages (from 1 year to 8 years old) after leaf shedding in late May. Results showed that the effect of location on corm yield was not significant, but effect of location on weight and percent of tonies were significant at 0.01 and 0.05 levels, respectively. Mean of corm yield at different location was 4.87 ton ha-1 for 1 year old field and 16.09 ton ha-1 for 8 years old field. The highest percent of weight (25.04%) was observed at 8 years old fields. Mean comparison of frequency of different classes of corm weight at different farm ages showed that among classes of 4.1 to 6, 6.1 to 8, 18.1 to 20, 22.1 to 24, 24.1 to 26, and >30 g were significantly different for farm ages at 0.01 level and in 14.1 to 16 g at 0.05 level. Mean of corm numbers per square meter was 55, 65, 71, 128, 152, 151, 184, and 248 for 1 year to 8 years old fields, respectively. The highest percentage of corms bigger than 8 g and more in the 3 years field which one effective in flower production was 59 percent. There was a positive correlation between corm diameter and corm weight (r2=0. 98).