Hollard Insure and Farmingportal.co.za and Agri News Net - Young Agri Writers awards
Introduction Crocus sativus, more commonly known as saffron or “red gold,” is the world’s most expensive spice.
About a decade ago, it began to be cultivated in South Africa and has since grown in popularity. This article explores the relationship between the corm size and the saffron yield. It provides background information on saffron, discusses the data used in the article and its limitations, while presenting both the results and the conclusion. Saffron Background The term saffron refers to the spice, while Crocus sativus is the plant itself. The corm is the bulb-like structure from which the plant grows leaves and produces flowers. The spice we call saffron comes from the red stigmas inside the flowers, which technically is the female reproductive organs of the plant.
When we refer to yield, we refer to the total grams of stigmas harvested. Since stigmas are found inside the flowers, the saffron yield is directly linked to the number of flowers a plant produces.
The high price connected to Saffron’s is largely due to two factors: • Each flower contains only three stigmas; • It takes between 75,000 and 100,000 flowers to produce just 1 kg of dry saffron. In addition to these prior mentioned factors, harvesting is extremely labour-intensive because the flowers and stigmas must be picked and removed by hand due to their delicate nature. Data & Limitation The data for this article comes from a local grower who conducted a small experiment to test whether heavier corms produce more flowers. The corms were grown in an indoor hydroponic system under controlled conditions. Humidity levels were maintained between 65% and 85%, while daytime temperatures were set at 17 °C and nighttime temperatures at 10 °C. The hypothesis is candid: if heavier corms do result in higher f lower production, growers should prioritise cultivating heavier corms to increase profitability. Three sets of data were collected: • Corm weight – Thirteen weight classes were recorded, ranging from 2g to 16g; • Corm identification (ID) – Each corm was assigned an ID to track it individually. Therefore, ID 14.4 refers to the fourth corm in the 14g class, while 16.1 refers to the first corm in the 16g class; • Distribution –
Figure 2 shows the number of corms within each weight class, sorted from largest to smallest. Here we can see that the 14g class contained five corms, while the 10g class had only one.
The main limitation of the data is the small sample size, where only 34 corms was distributed across 13 weight classes. While this allows us to observe trends and draw tentative conclusions, this experiment is not based on proved statistical methodology. The findings in this article should therefore be viewed as a foundation for further research. Results Once the flowers were ready for harvest, we counted the number of flowers produced by each corm and assigned the results accordingly. Figure 2 shows the distribution, sorted from largest to smallest. The corm labelled 14.5 produced the most flowers, while all corm classes after class 11.2 produced none.
When averaging flower production by weight class, a clear trend emerges (see figure 4). • The 14g class had the highest average at 2.2 flowers per corm. • The 16g class followed closely with an average of 2 flowers per corm. • Other high-performing classes were 13g and 15g. • Weight class 12g, 11g, 10g, 9g and 8g all had an average of 1 flower per corm • All corm weighing less than 8 g did not produced any flowers.
Conclusion Although the data does not provide a precise formula linking weight to flower production, some general conclusion can be drawn from the patterns seen in figure 4. Corms weighing less than 8g consistently failed to produce flowers, while those weighing more than 12g had a higher probability of producing multiple flowers per plant. Therefore, growers should aim to cultivate corms weighing above 12g to maximize yield and profitability, while avoiding corms below 8g altogether. Asking bold questions and conducting thoughtful experiments are at the heart of agricultural progress. Each test brings us closer to validating our ideas or, at times, reveals unexpected insights that spark entirely new avenues. These moments of curiosity and innovation have the power to transform not just practices, but the livelihoods of countless farmers worldwide. The real challenge before us is this: how do we continue to push the boundaries of knowledge, challenge conventional methods, and drive our agricultural industry in South Africa?
The whole Article is available - On top PDF. Better reading in PDF
Agriculture Economist | Market Research & Analyzing GrainSA
