Abstract—Efficient use of energy helps to achieve increased production and productivity, and contributes to the economy, profitability and competitiveness of agricultural sustainability of rural communities. Evaluation of saffron production system in view of energy balance was conducted in Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Data and information was collected by using a face to face questionnaire from saffron fields in 2013. Results revealed that the total energy used in various production processes for producing saffron was 21580 MJ ha-1. Amongst the production practices in saffron production, consumed corm for cultivation (seed) was the most energy consuming input (59.66%), followed by nitrogen fertilizer (13.79%) and manure (13.35%). Outputs in saffron are consist stigma, leaf and corm. Stigma, leaf and corm yields were 3.86, 1230 and 1630 kg ha-1, respectively for average of five years period. The total energy input consumed could be classified in saffron fields as direct (17.14%), indirect (82.86%), renewable (79.95%), and non-renewable (20.05%), energies. The share of renewable energy input used in total energy input was around 4 times more than non-renewable energy in saffron fields. Overall, in view of sustainability saffron production was a sustainable system.

Index Terms—crop production, energy input, renewable energy

Cite: Hassan Feizi, Hossein Sahabi, and Alireza Karbasi, "Saffron: An Efficient Crop Production System in Energy Use in Iran," Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 38-41, June 2015. Doi: 10.12720/joaat.2.1.38-41