Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Land preparation

 
• The land is well prepared by ploughing 4-5 times to a depth of 30-35 cm during March-April. The last ploughing is done in May. At the time of the last ploughing, FYM @ 15-20 t/ha is incorporated into the soil. Strips of 2 m x 8 m, with 20 cm deep inter-drainage channels, are made. The channels are made around the beds to drain out the excess water. It is desirable to make raised beds in loamy soils.

Planting
The planting season differs with the location. In the Kashmir valley, planting is done from mid-August to mid-September, whereas in Himachal Pradesh, planting is done from mid-July to mid-August. Only healthy, well developed corms free from cuts, wounds or diseases are selected for planting. The mean diameter of the seed corm should be 4-5 cm and the corms should be treated with copper fungicide before planting to protect them from corm-rot.
The corms are planted in furrows at the rate of 30-40 q (500,000 corms) per hectare, at a depth of 7.5 to 10 cm, with a spacing of 5 to 7.5 cm between plants and 7.5 to 10 cm between rows. The corms are also planted at 12 and 18 cm or 15 and 20 cm apart in rows and at a distance of 10 cm in a row.

Manures and fertilisers
It is suggested to annually apply 40 kg nitrogen and 50 kg phosphorus or NPK at 50-100:10:50 kg/ha for the commercial production of saffron. The usual practice in Himachal Pradesh is to apply 80-90 kg of nitrogen per hectare in 4-5 split doses at an interval of 20-25 days. Besides, it has been reported that 3-3.5% urea spray is effective in enhancing the total dry weight of saffron, but higher doses adversely affect the total dry yield of this crop.

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Irrigation
In the absence of rainfall, irrigation is required during August-September. However, saffron should not be irrigated during the flowering season. Saffron is grown as an irrigated crop in Spain, while it is cultivated as a rain-fed crop in India.

Interculture
The saffron fields should be kept weed-free for the proper growth and production of flowers. Weeding is done two the three times in a year to check the weed growth and also to avoid nutrient loss by weeds. Hoeing is also an important operation in the cultivation of saffron. The crusty soil around each bulb is loosened sometime in the spring itself to facilitate the emergence of the flower-stalk. The first hoeing should be done in the month of June, the second in the month of September and the third some time later. Incorporating sawdust mulch in to the crop beds is reported to increase the yields of the spice significantly.

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