SAFFRON CULTIVATION - AGRICULTURE
News: This year, saffron fields to spice up tourists’ reel life in Kashmir
What's in the news?
● Wearing
traditional attires and enacting 16th century Kashmiri poetess and queen Habba
Khatoon, students from south Kashmir’s Pampore, put the spotlight on the
ongoing saffron harvest to attract tourists for social media reels and unique
experiences amidst the elevated table-land known for one of the costliest
spices in the country.
Saffron:
● Saffron
is a spice derived from the flower
of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”.
● It
has long been the world’s costliest
spice by weight.
● It
is believed that saffron cultivation was introduced in Kashmir by Central Asian
immigrants around the 1st Century BCE.
Cultivated areas:
● Its
production has long been restricted to a limited geographical area in the Union
territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
● It
has now been extended to the North-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya under the Saffron Bowl project.
● Pampore region,
in India, commonly known as Saffron bowl
of Kashmir, is the main contributor to saffron production, followed by
Budgam, Srinagar, and Kishtiwar districts.
● It
has traditionally been associated with the famous Kashmiri cuisine and has medicinal
values.
● Kashmir saffron got
Geographical Indication (GI) tag status.
● Pampore
Saffron Heritage of Kashmir is one of the Globally
Important Agricultural Heritage systems (GIAHS) recognized sites in India.
● Iran
is the world’s leading producer of saffron, followed by Spain and India.
Season:
● In
India, saffron Corms (seeds) are cultivated during the months of June and July
and at some places in August and September.
● It
starts flowering in October.
Conditions:
● Altitude: Saffron grows well at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. It needs a photoperiod (sunlight) of 12 hours.
● Soil: It grows in many different soil types but thrives best in calcareous (soil that has calcium carbonate in abundance), humus-rich and well-drained soil with a pH between 6 and 8.
● Climate: For saffron cultivation, we need an explicit climatological summer and winter with temperatures ranging from no more than 35 or 40 degree Celsius in summer to about –15 or –20 degree Celsius in winter.
● Rainfall: It also requires adequate rainfall that is 1000-1500 mm per annum.
Government initiatives:
1. National Saffron Mission:
● The National Saffron Mission was sanctioned by the central government in the year 2010 in order to extend support for creation of irrigation facilities through tube wells and sprinkler sets which would help in production of better crops in the area of saffron production.
2. Saffron Bowl Project:
● Northeast Centre for
Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR)
under Saffron Bowl project has identified few locations in Arunachal Pradesh
and Meghalaya for saffron cultivation.
● In
Arunachal Pradesh, there is a good growth of organic saffron with flowers.
● In
Meghalaya, sample plantations were grown at Cherrapunji, Mawsmai and Lalingtop
sites.
● The
total cost of the whole project is Rs. 17.68 lakhs for Arunachal Pradesh and
Meghalaya. Out of which, a tentative amount of Rs.6.00 lakhs has been earmarked
for Barapani (Meghalaya) site.
● The
following sites have been identified in Meghalaya under the said project:
Barapani, Cherrapunji, Mawsmai, Shillong, and Lalingtop.