Do you know saffron can now be grown efficiently using Aeroponics? Read on to know more about growing saffron using Aeroponics here.
Saffron is a famous spice due to its distinctive aroma, flavor, and reddish-golden color. It has a long history of usage as medicine, dye, perfumes, and even in religious customs.
Its rich history has made it one of the world’s most sought-after spices. Hence, it is also on the pricier side. Also check how to grow aeroponics potato, How To Grow Tomatoes Using Aeroponics At Home, Top 10 Aeroponics Plants List You Should Plant
However, thanks to modern technology like Aeroponics, its cultivation is now more accessible. Here’s more about growing Saffron Using Aeroponics.
Why Do We Need Saffron?
Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices, and Iran does 90% of its production; however, many people are now trying to produce it worldwide due to its popularity and medicinal benefits.
Hence, don’t you think this popular spice production can be increased and be made available for everyone at a lower price? So everyone can enjoy saffron and all its glorious benefits?
We can avail of its medical benefits. As it is known to be one of the world’s first tincture and pain relaxants when its extracts are traditionally used.
Is Growing Saffron Using Aeroponics Possible?
Saffron is an autumn flowering plant that flourishes in dry Mediterranean climates.
It can survive in a minimal amount of water (check overwatering vs underwatering), even mist, making it among plants favorable to grow by using Hydroponics and Aeroponics.
After blooming, saffron bulbs reach a period of inactivity when the leaves and flowers wilt.
It can decay and expire if left in wet soil; thus, no soil, the air conditioning method of Aeroponics is suitable for growing it.
Why Do We Need to Look to Aeroponics to Increase the Production of Saffron?
Worldwide production of saffron is around 300 tons per year at the price of $5,000 per kilogram, making it one of the costliest spices in the world. It has been traded for its solid medicinal history for thousands of years.
Its cultivation traditionally is in soil using manual handpicking techniques, and its climatic protection using human labor increases its production cost.
Growing saffron using Aeroponics will reduce this cost, save water, and protect the environment from soil erosion and desertification.
Does Growing Saffron Aeroponically Affect its Production or Quality?
When you compare saffron production growth based on the dry weight bulb of saffron, the growth will be increased in Aeroponics and as compared with growth in soil.
Root length in Aeroponics might be compact compared to root length in soil, but shoot development will not be significantly affected. The production of stigmas and the concentration of the main components of saffron in the stigmas will be similar
Growing saffron using Aeroponics will result in a more valuable and renewable source of growing this spice; neither its quality nor its production will be affected.
How Much Saffron Will We Get from One Plant by Aeroponics?
Aeroponics is a closed system and a modern method of cultivating crops using a controlled environment. Hence saffron and other expensive spices are ideal for being grown in this environment.
Because here within a short time production rate as high as it is enclosed from many weather difficulties. Therefore, using a small space, this form of farming can result in a high density of the final product.
When you cultivate saffron in such an advanced method, each flower produces a lot of saffron threads. On average, 25 flower buds have saffron strands that can fill a teaspoon with better aroma, color, and taste.
How Many Varieties of Saffron Will We Get from One Plant Using Aeroponics?
Aeroponics is a soil-less method of plant farming in which plant roots hang in the air. The nutrients are provided to the plant using mist sprays through nozzles.
They are provided either constantly or after regular intervals. This method requires a specially designed room for installation, and the maintenance cost is enormous.
Due to these nutrient-rich mists of 1-min on and 1-min off sprays and various sensors for measuring and controlling temperature, pH, and humidity.
Almost every variety of saffron can be produced using this technique.
Growing Saffron Using Aeroponics in a Greenhouse
We all know that plants that are temperature sensitive or need specific climatic conditions are preferred to be grown in a greenhouse.
Growing saffron with Aeroponics in a greenhouse will protect it from severe weather, and during flowering, its bulbs will be safeguarded from rain or snow.
Even a hundred-meter square greenhouse area will help you cultivate 4-5 kg of dry saffron annually, and your sensible investment will result in profits in no time.
1. Requirements and Tools List:
Now let’s discuss the requirements and tools you need for growing saffron with Aeroponics in a greenhouse.
| Agricultural land |
| Glass Rooftop, Panels, and Doors |
| Air conditioner |
| Digital Humidifier |
| Thermometer |
| The shelf and trays are made up of wood. |
| Gardening tools |
All these tools, which initially seem to be a more significant investment, will make saffron production easy and cost-effective in the long term and support growing saffron with Aeroponics.
2. Steps of Growing Saffron using Aeroponics in a Greenhouse:
Following are the steps to grow saffron using Aeroponics.
1. Purchase saffron bulbs
To grow saffron in your Greenhouse, you first need to buy its bulbs in good quantity for your hundred-meter square Greenhouse with fifty meters of farming agricultural area.
2. Disinfection of saffron bulbs
The next step is to disinfect those bulbs and the best time to do that is summer; humidity in your bulbs would be low, and their chances of spoilage would also be low.
3. Preparation of cultivation in Greenhouse
The next step is to prepare your cultivation area by disinfecting, cleaning, and making arrangements.
We will control the environment by installing the Air conditioner, Digital Humidifier, Thermometer and shelf, and trays made of wood.
4. Transporting of bulbs to Greenhouse
After disinfecting bulbs, sites, and trays, we will maintain the place’s humidity to 80 percent with low-temperature air at 17 degrees centigrade.
We will transport bulbs to start its growing season. Flowers will bloom in the fall and need to be harvested immediately.
5. Harvesting and Cleaning of Bulb
Just after a flower blooms, we need to harvest it immediately; otherwise, its stigma will wilt, which is our saffron; thus, in the fall season, flowers will be ready to harvest.
6. Transportation of Bulbs to the Land
After harvesting, we should quickly transfer bulbs to the ground in early winter. We should look after this process quickly and not waste time.
Completing this process swiftly can save them from the rainy season. If left unattended, they can be destroyed and our investment for next season will be increased, thus, reducing our profits.
Reasons for Growing Saffron using Aeroponics:
1. Low Water Consumption:
Worldwide in areas where water is less, Aeroponics will do wonders. Usually, soil-raised crops typically waste 90 percent of their water.
Plants in Aeroponics use only 10 percent. An average saffron plant needs nutrient-rich mist of 1min on and 1min off-cycle, saving a lot of water.
2. Less Need for Fertilizers:
As we spray nutrient-rich mist sprays through nozzles, plants rarely need any other fertilizer during the year, which is a must expense for soil bed saffron.
Growing saffron with Aeroponics only requires 15% of the minerals that a traditionally grown saffron will need.
3. Less Time-Consuming:
It is less time-consuming as more plants will grow as its completion to grow roots is less; it requires less water, less space, less sunlight, and more minor minerals.
Its growth would be four-time as compared to soil-grown saffron.
4. Variety of Crops at the Same Time:
One of the best advantages of using Aeroponics for growing saffron is that you can grow other crops in the same place as saffron.
Crops like tomato, cabbage, and lettuce can simultaneously be supervised to maximize your profit and reduce your space.
5. Environment-Friendly:
Growing saffron with Aeroponics is also environmentally friendly as we are not producing any pollution.
No manure fertilizer is discharged into the atmosphere or pesticide sprayed. Everything is done in a specified closed environment area.
Growing Saffron Using Aeroponics FAQs:
Q: How Can We Grow Saffron Using Aeroponics?
It Is A Soil-Free Plant Growing Method Using Air Mist In Which Saffron Is Planted And Harvested Under Controlled Conditions To Produce Saffron.
Q: Is Growing Saffron Using Aeroponics Gainful?
Aeroponics System Grows A Better Yield Of Saffron Than Traditional Farming Because Every Step Of The Process Is Controlled In Aeroponics.
In Conventional, It Isn’t; With Better Results, It’s Gainful.
Q: How Long Does Growing Saffron Using Aeroponics Take?
It usually takes 6-8 weeks after planting for saffron to grow Using Aeroponics.
Q: Why Is Harvesting Saffron Even Using Aeroponics Tricky?
Harvesting is a time-consuming method manually using labor as saffron strands are delicate.
Q: Is Growing Saffron Using Aeroponics Environment-Friendly?
Yes, it saves water, prevents land pollution and soil erosion, and no waste is discharged into water resources.
Q: Is Growing Saffron Using Aeroponics Indoors Possible?
Yes, you can grow saffron using Aeroponics indoors using a greenhouse.
Q: How Many Saffron Corms In 1 Kg?
If a saffron corm is 15g on average, it will have 60 to 80 corms of saffron in 1 kg.
Final Words
Saffron is treasured all over the world.
However, their harvest is also affected by the rapidly changing environmental conditions such as shortage of water, soil depletion, erratic rainfall, or drought.
Therefore, we must shift towards growing saffron using Aeroponics and ensure its yield is not affected.
My name is Olivia, and I live in the United States and love having plants in my garden. Lots of plants are there on my balcony, indoor and outdoor garden also. Here I am trying to share useful gardening tips, how to grow and care for various plants, etc.
